A Brother More Like Me
by nevvt
Summary: After almost killing his little brother, Andy, with his magic, Prince Elliott of Arendelle is forced to hide himself away so his brother can be safe. But it's been said fear will be his enemy, and when the day of his coronation comes, fear may just consume him. [Genderbent Elsa-Elliott, Anna-Anders, Kristoff-Krista, Hans-Helena.]
1. The Accident

Arendelle's castle became cold and foreboding once everyone went to sleep, once all the furnaces had been put out and all the staff had retired to their rooms, only a crazy person would be up at that hour.

So naturally Prince Andy was wide awake. Waiting for the slit of light under the door to finally disappear had been_ torture_, but the second it was gone the young prince pushed the heavy wool covers away and dropped down from his bed. He'd stopped hearing the soft snoring a while ago, so maybe his brother was awake? Or in a deeper sleep?

_It doesn't matter, _the 5-year-old thought, _sleep is for the weak._

He climbed up the bed across the room from his so energetically you'd think it wasn't the middle of the night, which it was. Near the headboard, nestled between a few pillows, was his brother's sleeping form. Andy knew it wasn't the moonlight filtering through the window that made his brother's hair the platinum blonde that it was, he'd just kind of been born with it, and the paleness also wasn't the moon's doing.

"Psst, Elliott!" he whispered, crawling towards his brother, "Wake up, wake up, wake up!" His brother did not stir.

Frowning, Andy sat on top of him and poked his chin, "are you dead?"

Elliott groaned, "Andy, go back to your bed."

"I can't!" his brother complained, spreading his arms dramatically, "Sleep is for the weak! And we're not weak, so we have to _plaaaaay_."

"Right now I don't mind being weak," the 8-year-old rolled over, causing Andy to lose his balance and tumble off the bed. He landed on his butt, _hard, _and he pouted. Elliott was so mean! Dejectedly, he stood up and meant to go back to his own boring bed, when suddenly an idea struck him.

In a matter of seconds, Elliott felt the full weight of his little brother on top of him again. Andy lifted one of Elliott's eyelids, forcing the stormy blue eyes to meet his mischievous green ones.

"Do you want to build a snowman?"

Both stormy eyes opened. Elliott smiled.

• • •

"Come on, come on, come on!" now in full- or almost full - winter gear, the two brothers ran down the castle's spiral staircase, Andy's excitement getting the better of him and resulting in him almost tripping over many times, but Elliott would grab him by the arm trying to shush him, stifling giggles himself.

"The ballroom," Andy said, pushing open the door. Elliott obediently followed, and closed it behind him. The room was huge, granted the biggest in the castle, with high ceilings and arched windows that provided just enough moonlight so they could see. It would work perfectly for what the little princes had in mind.

"Elliott do the magic!" Andy cried, his voice echoing.

Elliott laughed and formed a good-sized snowball in his hand, and without another word, threw it right at his brother's face.

"_HEY,_" the little prince complained, "that's not what I meant!"

"No?" Elliott feigned confusion, and then laughed at his brother's pout. "Okay, okay, hang on." This time when he formed the snowball, he threw it high into the air where it burst- making tiny snowflakes fall down.

"Yay! That's more like it!" Andy giggled, trying to catch snowflakes with his hands and mouth. The burst of magic spread to the whole room, creating not only the ice on the floor and the flakes falling but also a grand amount of snow.

And with that snow the brothers lost no time; they got down to business. To make things fair Elliott created two snow forts and a supply of snowballs for each, and the fight started. Elliott could create snowballs in his hand to rapid-fire, but Andy was quick and his aim was better. It went on for quite awhile, but eventually Elliott's obvious advantage got his brother to collapse on the snow.

"Had enough?" Elliott said teasingly, looking down at his defeated sibling.

"Cheater, _cheat-er_, you are a _cheater_." Andy said in a sing-song voice, as he made a snow angel from his spot on the floor. He jumped up to look at his handiwork and grinned.

Elliott smiled back, "Hey, watch this," once he got his redhead brother's attention he stomped his boot-clad foot and from that spot a thin layer of ice began to coat all the floor of the ballroom, forming a giant ice rink.

Andy clumsily tried to skate towards his brother, but ended up slipping and falling flat on his butt for the second time in less than an hour, with Elliott laughing the whole time.

"You're not going to make a good warrior this way," his brother chided, pulling the embarrassed prince back on his feet.

"Yeah? You're gonna make a stinky king!" Andy stuck out his tongue, sliding away and towards the pile of snow Elliot's magic had created, "The Ice cube King! That's pretty lame."

Elliott rolled his eyes and skated towards that pile, way more gracefully than Andy could ever hope to, considering his older brother wasn't wearing skates but boots. There they began to roll giant snowballs to build a snowman together. It wasn't a regular snowman, either, while they were building it Elliott kept saying, "_this _is what a warrior should look like!"

Instead of the typical three base-snowballs and buttons for eyes, they built a broad chest and thick snowy arms, Elliott using ice to glue them together in place. Andy plopped a large snowball to serve as head, and the brothers started poking around to make the eyes, the large nose, the solider hat. Andy even did the detail of decorating the snowman's chest with little badges, like he'd already won many battles.

"_Ta-dah_!" Elliott stood behind the snowman and with a flick of his hand an ice sword appeared in the snow warrior's hand, "Hello, Soldier Anders! I am General Winter! _Salute_!" he said in a grave voice.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Andy saluted, pursing his lips and trying to manage a serious expression.

"You wish to protect the kingdom, but what have you got to offer?" Elliott continued in the grave, hopefully intimidating voice of his creation.

"I can... um, I can..." Andy hesitated, "I've killed the Blizzard Dragon, sir!"

Elliott laughed in his normal voice, "there's no such thing."

"That's cos I killed him."

"Very well, solider. Let's see what you got," Elliott returned to the stern voice, "your training begins now!"

Elliott shot a weak beam of snow towards his brother, who easily dodged it. Then another. All of them he dodged with ease, laughing like the sleep-deprived person he was.

"Hey, I'm over here!" a weak streak of ice shot past him, "are you blind or somethin'?"

"Stop moving and die like a man!" Elliott said in the General's voice, "take this!" but just like the others, the shot of ice missed Andy by miles.

"Aren't you the king of ice and snow? Can't you hit me?" he mocked, now clearly talking to Elliott and not the snowman.

A flash of hurt crossed his brother's eyes, and suddenly the shots of ice got stronger and more precise. "is this better?" Elliott's eyes narrowed.

"If you were aiming at _that_ column you just hit then, yeah, better!" Andy was still dodging everything, his clumsiness on the ice actually becoming an advantage as he slipped this way and the other at random, "come on!"

Growing angry, Elliott made a slash motion with his arm and a snow peak burst from the ground, and taking it as part of their game Andy easily climbed it.

"Next part in training," Elliott announced in the General's voice, "dodge and jump!"

Snow peak after snow peak Elliott created, shooting ice in his brother's direction but never hitting him, and Andy just kept jumping higher and higher.

"Maybe you weren't lying about the Blizzard Dragon," Elliott said in the low voice, but Andy was so high up he probably hadn't heard him. The older prince's eyes widened, "Wait- wait, Andy, that's too high!" he cried in his normal voice.

"Catch!" Andy jumped again, and Elliott had no choice but to create another snow peak so his brother could hop on. "you've stopped shooting, what's the matter, General?" he laughed prepared to leap.

"_ANDY!_" Elliott cried and tried to aim, as his smirking brother jumped yet again, Elliott experienced something he'd _never_ experienced before- _the feeling of slipping on ice_. He felt the magic leave his fingers, but he didn't get to see where it landed as his head hit the cold floor.

Elliott heard the sound of a body falling. He sat up just to see Andy's unconscious form tumbling down the snow bank. "Andy!"

He ran over to his brother, taking the little prince in his arms. Elliott watched in confusion as a streak in Andy's usually strawberry blonde hair turned white. "No... Andy? Andy?" Elliott murmured, tapping his brother's freckled cheek, "are you dead?" he tried the line his brother had said earlier, expecting the eager puppy eyes to snap open and tell him he was kidding, but they didn't. A horrible feeling settled on the older prince's stomach. _Was Andy dead because of him?_

"MAMA! PAPA!" Elliott started to shake, and not from the cold. Below him he felt the ice become somewhat colder, and what had been the snowy playroom just seconds before suddenly became a frightening scene: spikes of ice began to jut from the ceilings and walls. One of said spikes impaled General Winter, destroying him into a sad lump of snow.

"You're gonna be okay, Andy... I got you..." Elliott's voice cracked.

There was a thump somewhere to his right, and Elliot realized, someone was trying to get in through the frozen doors. With a weak nod, making sure to not let Andy go for even a second, he made the ice crack enough so that the doors would open.

"Elliott!" came his mother, the Queen's, voice. Beside her was his father, The King. "Elliott, what have you done?" the King demanded, "this is getting out of hand!" he gestured at the scary spikes Elliott's fear had caused. They were both in their night outfits, with their hair wild in a very un-royal manner Elliott would've found funny in any other situation.

"Andy!" the Queen gasped upon seeing the younger boy. They both rushed over, almost slipping, to their two sons.

"I-It was an accident! We were playing..." Elliott watched helpless as the Queen took Andy from his arms and into her own, "I'm sorry, Andy..."

The Queen pressed a hand to Andy's forehead and glanced anxiously at her husband, "He's ice cold."

Elliott watched his father's face turn from worry to determination. "I know where we have to go."

* * *

**Sorry for spelling errors, hope you enjoyed anyway :)**


	2. Krista & Trolls

Krista hummed loudly, for the sake of making some sort of _sound _so the dark didn't completely consume her. Coming from the mountain she'd been humming a tune her mother had sang to her a million years ago, but by this point the young girl was just making random noises. She was sure her reindeer calf, Suri, had stopped enjoying it a good while ago.

Suri was pulling the dinky little sleigh through the dark woods, as Krista travelled in the back with their single block of ice from that day's haul. The ice harvesters were nice to her, they would've let her ride in the big horse-drawn ice sled if she had asked, but she preferred to go by herself with Suri. They did enough providing for her, after her parents...

She hummed louder, blocking out the bad memories. This single block of ice would have been kind of worthless had it not been hers. As much as she disliked it, people pitied her, so much that they'd buy her tiny block of ice like it was the most precious thing they had ever seen. Though they didn't pity her enough to offer her a warm bed every night, leaving the little girl to fend for herself sometimes. Suri was a blessing, not only was she Krista's only friend but the reindeer calf did what it could to help out. And sometimes the homes she got weren't exactly the best, there were some really terrible people out there. She'd rather hang around Suri.

"_Cut through the heart, cold and clear_." she sang under her breath the ice harvester's song, "_Strike for love and strike for fear..._"

Suri whined in protest, clicking her hoofs on the ground to make a point.

"_You sound like a choking cat,_" Krista said in a goofy voice, Suri's voice, she liked to pretend it was. "_Please shut up_." Krista pretended to be offended, "That's rude, Suri! Just for that, I'm going to SING LOUDER. _See the beauty sharp and sheer, split the ice __**apart**__! __**and break the frozen heart**__." _The last part she said it in a manly way, like the ice harvesters did when they sang in the mountains.

Krista laughed as Suri snorted and stomped the ground, clearly displeased.

"Think of my singing as motivation. The sooner we get home, the sooner I'll stop!" and so they went faster. By _home _she meant the abandoned hut they'd been sleeping in for the past few days.

All of a sudden, two people on horseback raced past, and Suri stopped to watch. One of the horses was leaving a wake of ice behind it.

"Ice?" Krista tilted her head, then she looked back at the horses that were racing out of sight. She grabbed the reins and turned the sled around, "come on, Suri!"

• • •

They followed the trail of ice all the way to the Valley of the Living Rock. Krista had heard rumors about this place from the elder ice harvesters, but she figured they were just stories so she didn't stay up past her bedtime. She hopped off the sleigh at the edge of the valley, peeking out with Suri right next to her.

Down below, surrounded by rocks, were 4 people. A redheaded man with a neat beard, unlike the ice-harvesters untamed ones, holding the hand of a little boy with really light hair who looked very scared, trying to hide behind the man's legs. The woman had blonde hair much like Krista's, and in her arms was a redheaded boy wrapped up in a blanket. Krista gasped quietly.

"I think that's the king and the queen," she told Suri, "Only one person has that kinda hair, and it's the prince," she recognized the heir, who was a few years older than her.

"Help, please! It's my son!" the King cried at the pile of rocks. Krista had to press a hand to her mouth so she didn't laugh.

The feeling quickly left her when a bunch of rocks began to tumble down the valley towards them.

_They'll be crushed, _she thought, with half a mind to reveal herself and say something.

But, shockingly, the rocks stopped moving at their feet. The rocks then unfolded, revealing bright faces. They had of course rocky skin, but with human features like big ears at the top of their heads and massive noses, and their clothes looked like they'd ripped a patch of grass from the ground and decided to wear it as a tunic. Most of them had different colored crystals hanging around their necks which glowed faintly in the dark. In their dry grass-like hair some of them had flowers. Maybe the girls?

"Trolls...?" Krista said, puzzled. She almost screamed when the boulder she'd been leaning on sprang up.

"Shh! I'm trying to listen," it... she said. It had a girl's voice. With her stubby hands she pulled them closer. Krista whimpered softly, still surprised and a little afraid the elder's stories were actually true. Suri, on the other hand, playfully licked the troll's face.

"Cuties!" the troll gushed, eyeing them both and hugging them closer, "I'm gonna keep you," Krista smiled at that, a nice warm feeling settling in her chest. The nice feeling of being _wanted._ The troll's attention returned to the valley below. "Oh! Grand Pabbie will help them."

The crowd below parted for a troll as old as the Earth, slow and careful in his steps. Krista could tell him apart from the others because he had bushy grass eyebrows and a sort of beard made of the stuff too. That and he had way more crystals than any of the others, with a soft yellow glow.

"Your Majesty," the troll king, Grand Pabbie, or whatever he was, nodded respectfully at the King. Then he looked at the prince, whom he had at eye-level, "Born with the powers or cursed?"

"Born," the King replied, placing a hand on his son's shoulder, "And they're getting stronger," he added as an after-thought.

Grand Pabbie gestured at the Queen to bring the younger prince closer. She did, kneeling down so the troll could reach him.

"Ah, it's just his head," the old troll sighed, "Good thing it was not the heart. That is tricky to change. But the head can be persuaded."

"Do what you must," the King said.

"I recommend we remove all magic. Even memories of magic... to be safe," the troll placed a hand on the prince's forehead. "But don't worry. I'll leave the fun."

Once again Krista almost screamed when Grand Pabbie pulled out a glowing blue energy from the young prince's head. It's like she was there, watching the moments of the young prince's life through the eyes of someone that had been there. What Krista assumed must've been his memories floated above him. Grand Pabbie changed all of the magical memories to ordinary memories- snowball fights indoors with the boys in their sleepwear changed to outdoors on the winter fjords with them in winter gear, building snowman's and forts indoors also changed to the outdoors. Grand Pabbie then placed a hand on the still sleeping boy's forehead, thus placing the new ordinary memories back in his head.

"He's gonna be okay," Grand Pabbie said, getting a sigh of relief from the royal family in return.

"But..." the prince with the icy magic frowned, "He won't... he won't remember I have powers?"

"It's for the best, Elliott," his father said with a kind smile. But Elliott just looked worried.

"Listen to me, Elliott. Your power will only grow," Grand Pabbie explained, using his magic troll powers to bend the Northern Lights to his will, conducting them to show the blue silhouette of an adult Elliott creating beautiful snowflakes, "There is beauty in your magic..."

Elliott smiled tentatively, pleased by the pretty snowflakes and the friendly-looking human silhouettes around him. But then the image changed sharply to red, and the snowflakes turned into spikes, all-too similar to the ones he'd created in the ballroom.

"But there's also great danger. You must learn to control it," the troll said firmly, in the Northern Lights display the human silhouettes panicked and started to attack Elliott because of the spikes. "_Fear will be your enemy_."

Elliott gasped and stumbled back, terror clear in his blue eyes. The King caught him and put an arm over his son. "No. We'll protect him. He can learn to control it, I'm sure... until then...

"_We'll lock the gates. _

_We'll reduce the staff. _

_We will limit his contact with people_

_and keep his powers hidden from _

_everyone... including Andy. _

• • •

Andy watched, confused and sad, as they transported Elliott's four-poster bed to a new room. As they transported his clothes, his toys, his books... everything. Leaving a huge empty space where his best buddy used to be. He caught Elliott's eye as he was slipping inside his new room, and he smiled.

Elliott probably attempted to smile, but it came out more like a grimace, his stormy eyes full of pain. Andy wondered why.

"Elliott."

But the door clicked shut, and no matter how many times Andy knocked and pleaded and threatened, it did not open again.


	3. Do you want to build a snowman?

_Maybe today, _Andy thought eagerly as he rushed down the hall, _maybe._

He stopped in his tracks in front of the large white oak door, which had now been painted and decorated with little snowflake carvings. Had this been Elliott's doing?

_Probably, _Andy thought as he knocked quickly three times- his signature knock, _what else would he be doing all day._

"Elliott!" he called, pointing at the window that showed the falling snowflakes even though his brother couldn't see, "come on, it's snowing, let's go and play!"

He waited two heartbeats, but the heir to Arendelle was silent. Like he always was. Andy pouted, peeking under the door, checking to see if Elliott was standing right there and was just messing with him. But he wasn't.

"Let's build a snowman, let's build General Winter!" Andy decided to bring out his secret weapon. From his pockets, he took out a handful of snow he'd got from the courtyard, most of it had melted, but it would do. He shoved it under the door, "look, Elliott!"

He waited, but all he got in return was silence.

"I never see you anymore, not like before. I wish you would tell me why..." Andy knocked again, more times, more insistently, "it's like you've gone away! Come out!"

He peeked through the keyhole, "Do you wanna build a snowman?"

When nothing happened, he pressed his lips against the keyhole and said in General Winter's voice, "It doesn't have to be a snowman..."

His spirits both lifted and crashed back down when Elliott's voice called back, "Leave me alone, Andy."

Heartbroken, Andy slipped his cold hands inside the wet pockets thanks to the snow. He walked down the hall, head down.

• • •

Elliott watched longingly out the window at the courtyard, as Andy rolled another snowball into shape. His freckled cheeks were flushed, and his hair was tucked inside an earflap winter cap. Elliott cringed at the white streak of hair poking out- the streak of hair _he'd _caused. His mother, the Queen, sat nearby with a book on her lap.

He pressed a hand against the window, desperately trying to reach out, because shutting his brother out was killing him slowly. A flurry of snow descended to where Andy was, and while his back was turned, the chest of the General Winter he was building got decorated with intricate medals.

From his spot in the windowsill Elliott watched happily as his brother's face turned to one of delight upon seeing the addition.

"Mama, look!" he heard Andy say. But his heart sank when the Queen looked up and glared at Elliott.

_He doesn't know you have powers. Stop, _her expression clearly read. Scared, Elliott pushed himself way from the window, his icy hands accidentally frosting it over.

Later that day, the Queen probably told her husband what had happened, because he came by Elliott's room and handed him some nice leather gloves.

"The gloves will help," his father told him confidently, "See? It'll be alright."

He patted Elliott's gloved hand and looked him in the eyes, "Conceal it."

"Don't feel it..." Elliott halfheartedly continued the mantra his father had started drilling into his head.

"Don't let it show," they said together. The King grinned, but Elliott just felt empty.

• • •

"Do you want to build a snowman?" 9-year-old Andy asked, knocking on the door three times, like he always did. "Or, maybe not a snowman? We can try out the bikes Ser Greene gave us? Yours is still all wrapped up, Elliott!"

Andy pressed his ear against the door, but all he heard was the quiet scratching of pencil on paper. Did Elliott spend all his time studying? What a drag.

"Come out, darling brother. It's a little lonely out here," Andy tried, "Some company is overdue, I've started talking to the furniture!" he saluted the bust of a man made in marble near Elliott's door, "hang in there, Caesar!"

When, unsurprisingly, he got no reply, he sulked away to the big grandfather clock at the end of the hall. His eyes followed the swinging pendulum, _tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock_.

• • •

"It's getting stronger!" Elliott wanted to scream, but all that came out was a frustrated whisper. The entire wall behind him had frozen over, after he took off the gloves to show his parents how the control over his powers was doing now that he was 12.

"Calm down, son. You know it only gets worse when you get upset," the King said gently, spreading his arms to pull Elliott into a hug.

"No! Stop. Don't- don't touch me," Elliott jerked back, hiding his hands behind his back. His parents exchanged an alarmed look. "I... I don't want to hurt you," he said in a tiny voice.

"Elliott..." the Queen's heartbroken eyes dug into Elliott like a blade.

• • •

Andy ran down the hall to his parent's quarters, passing without stopping by the snowflake-carved door. He barged in just in time to give his mother a big hug, "See you in two weeks!"

The King shut the final suitcase, "Behave, Andy. I don't want more notices about the prince breaking-and-entering forbidden areas. That's why they're forbidden."

The now teenager Andy laughed good-naturedly, "Don't worry, Papa. Have fun at the wedding in Corona for me, hm?"

The three of them chuckled and shared a nice embrace.

• • •

Elliott, looking more and more like a fine young man every day, bowed low and formally at his parents, not touching them.

"Do you have to go?" he murmured sullenly, thinking about 2 weeks without either of his parents to run the kingdom and only with him in charge sounded like a nightmare. Too bad that was his birthright.

"You'll be fine, Elliott," the King smiled confidently, his arms twitched as he probably decided against a hugging his son. Elliott would pull away anyway.

The stormy blue eyes showed less and less emotion every day. "See you soon," Elliott stood to his full height, almost as tall as his father now.

• • •

"A terrible accident... Ship got caught in the middle of a storm..."

"Is Prince Elliott around? I'd like to give my condolences..."

"I am so sorry, Andy, they were fantastic people, your parents..."

"Now to wait until the prince becomes of age..."

"Have courage, Anders."

Andy thought that getting away from the crowd of mourning people would ease the pain in his chest, but arriving to the empty castle only made him feel worse. He appreciated their words, but after such loss, he doubted anyone felt the way he did... well, maybe except for one person.

_Maybe, _Andy sighed in front of the great oak door he'd spent countless hours of his childhood trying to break into. Trying to get his only brother to come out. The castle was darker and for some reason colder than ever, and on the way in he'd had to bear the sight of a servant covering the great painting of his parents in a black mourning cloth.

He gathered his courage and placed his palm against the door.

"Elliott, please. I know you're in there. People are asking where you've been," Andy bit the inside of his cheek, remembering himself standing between the two burial stones alone with the priest. "They tell me to have courage, and... I'm trying to, Elliott. I really am..." he knocked slowly, tiredly, three times.

"I'm right out here for you," Andy ground out, his shoulders starting to shake. He kicked the door with the point of his black boot, once, twice, three times. And then he did something he had never done before, "Elliott. Please let me in."

For years he'd asked Elliott to come out, and for the first time he was asking to be let in. Gritting his teeth, he slid back against the door, his head resting against it.

"You're all I have left, just... just listen to me," he slammed his elbow against the door, the tears now falling freely. "I don't know what to do..." he sobbed weakly, "_what _are we gonna do?"

He kept hitting the door with his elbow until it throbbed so bad he had to stop. And he sat there, his back against the door, grieving by himself.

"Do you want to build a snowman..." Andy didn't even have the energy to raise his voice at the end of the question. He figured he was pretty much talking to himself, alone, like it had felt for most of his life.

• • •

Every time Andy's elbow made contact with the door, Elliott felt it to his core. His pose was mirroring his brother's, sitting against the door, just from the other side. Every time the door shook with the force of Andy's pent up grief, Elliott pretended all of them were meant for him.

_I'm sorry, _didn't cut it, not by a long shot, but what else did Elliott have to offer? He hesitated. He should let Andy in. They only had each other.

He looked up, and quickly decided against _that_ idea. His bedroom was frozen with ice, snowflakes hung in the air, suspended by grief. It was like time had stopped, and for Elliott, it sort of had. He clenched and unclenched his jaw so hard it hurt. Andy's nonstop banging on the door just added to his sorrow.

What had been his last words to his parents?

_Not I love you_, he thought, hugging his legs closer and burrowing his face in his knees. He hadn't even _hugged them. _And to make matters worse, he didn't trust himself to go out in public. Look what he'd done to his bedroom, gloves and all. The funeral would have overwhelmed him so much, he probably would've set off a raging blizzard right there and then. Under other circumstances, Andy would have loved it, diving into the snow and asking Elliott to join him. The thought almost made him smile, but then the banging against his door stopped.

"_Do you want to build a snowman..."_

As the quiet words reached his ears through the door, Elliott broke down.

* * *

**For now I'm heavily leaning on the Frozen script and using some of the translations from the spanish version of the movie which i think worked well, and also the transition from song to story went kinda alright? anyway, the differences will start showing soon, I may just take the path disney decided not to take to make 'elsa' the villian ;) but who knows.**

**+ also to the person that sent me a message on tumblr, thank you for the suggestion! but it's too late to change the names now, srry elliott isn't really a scandinavian name but at least anders is i think. anyway hope u enjoyed, feedback is appreciated!**


	4. For the first time in forever

3 YEARS LATER

A new dawn rose over the fjords. Ships pulled up to Arendelle's docks, with guests from all over the neighboring kingdoms piling out. The gates were opening, for the first time in what seemed like forever, because Prince Elliott had come of age.

Allied kingdoms, friends, trade partners, the list went on with all the people attending. The townsfolk were excited, too, setting up all the decorations for the celebration. The proud banners with the profile picture of the Prince dance effortlessly in the summer breeze. It was a very important day in the history of Arendelle, and not one person wanted to miss it.

So naturally Prince Andy was so tangled up in his bed sheets it wouldn't be surprising if he never got out. The now 18 year old had grown into a slender young man, with a dimpled smile and freckles that seemed to cover most of his body. He had the worst case of bed hair, like a mouse had nested on it over the night, with his vibrant signature streak of white out of place like always.

"Prince Andy?" Kai rapped on the door, "Your majesty, sorry to wake you, but you must get ready."

Andy groaned and turned over, trying to blink sleep from his eyes, "Ready...? For what?"

"Your brother's coronation, sir."

Andy sat up, wiping the drool from his chin and scrunching up his nose, "Elliott's doing what...?"

"Sir, the gates will be opening-"

"The gates!" Andy's eyes snapped open and his face broke into a smile, "Why didn't you say something, Kai?"

Andy tried to struggle out of the cocoon of sheets he'd managed to get into in the night but when that failed, he just let himself fall to the floor face-first. It did the trick, and the prince scrambled to his feet and smiled at the nice green and black suit that had been set out for him.

•••

Fixing the lapels of his jacket, Andy rushed out to all the excitement, seeing all the hustle of preparations was a nice change. The windows were open, making the castle brighter than he ever remembered it being. He tried to walk with his head held high in calculated steps, like he'd been taught to, but he couldn't help skipping around all the people carrying plates and things Andy didn't even know they had.

Elated, he ran to the windows, trying to catch a glimpse of all the ships arriving. All of those people coming, _here, _to Arendelle! He felt giddy. How many princesses and daughters of lords would he meet? Lots, he hoped. His last suitor had turned out to actually be in love with Elliott- of course, the mysterious heir, but like always his brother didn't even give her the time of day. Pushing the bitter thoughts away, he remembered lots of guests meant lots of food, too, so that would be his next stop.

Andy stared, or more like ogled, at the beautiful three layer cake that was the center piece of all the other dishes. Smirking, and making sure no one was watching, he grabbed a handful of the blue frosting that decorated it.

He felt good about himself for about a minute, the approximate time it took him to lick the frosting off his fingers, but then he realized the really obvious spot where he took a taste would be noticed by the guests.

"For the love of..." he hesitated as he heard footsteps approaching, and in a desperate move, grabbed one of the fish entrée and stuck it to the side of the cake where he'd stolen. "There. Lovely decoration."

And he left the scene of the crime as fast as he could.

• • •

Elliott watched the coronation guests arrive through the library's window, all the people who would soon be stepping through _actual open gates_. A rare sight, that was. Granted he'd spent about 90% of his life inside these walls, with the gates closed. To protect him, the King had said.

Nervous was an understatement to what he was feeling. Today he would become King of Arendelle. Officially, that is, because he'd pretty much shouldered the responsibility ever since his parent's passing. Every country allied with Arendelle had sent people over the years to help him, but today, all that power and responsibility would all fall to him.

His parents had died before they could teach him how to run a kingdom. But to him, the most harmful part was that they'd left him without fully teaching him how to control his powers. The King had attempted to teach him, but his glove solution could only do so much. Elliott remembered what the troll had warned him so long ago, '_fear will be your enemy'._ He mustn't let it consume him.

Taking a shaky breath, he decided to practice for what seemed the umpteenth time that morning, because he could _not _screw this up. If he made one wrong move, everyone would know.

He took off the gloves, and he immediately felt exposed, almost naked.

_Don't let them in, don't let them see, _he closed his eyes and repeated the mantra, picking up a candlestick and an ornament to practice instead of the actual orb and scepter. He opened his eyes to see the picture of his late Father, young and poised, holding those two same things in the painting, probably on the day of his own coronation.

_Conceal, don't feel, _he told himself, he had to put on a good show and control his powers. For a fleeting second, nothing happened, he held the ornament and the candlestick in each hand easily and he almost looked as calm as his father did in the painting.

But suddenly the cold started seeping from his fingers, and both things iced over. Elliott gasped, and slammed both of them down on the table, quickly putting on his gloves.

_It's only for today! _He assured himself. He'd be laughing about this tomorrow. But for now, it was agony to wait.

Composing himself, he stepped out of the library where he'd been all morning.

"Tell the guards to open up the gate!"

• • •

_It's only for today, _Andy thought as he ran along the bridge and into the village square, the gates were finally open! His chance to leave his brother's lonely world. Having the gates open was one of the most fantastic things he'd ever experienced. He could count in his fingers how many times he'd left the castle in the last years, came down here to interact with his people, to enjoy the little shops and just overall Arendelle goodness.

_Nothing's in my way,_ he thought and actually laughed out loud, sprinting even faster. He'd have to go back in time for the coronation, of course, but that could wait because-

- because he slammed into the other person so hard he managed to knock them both to the ground. He had the breath knocked out of him, and it took Andy a few seconds to realize there was someone below him.

Angry hazel eyes stared up at him. "Do you _mind?_"

"I-I'm so sorry," he stammered, rolling off and quickly climbing to his feet, offering his hand, "I wasn't looking-I- I'm stupid-"

His apology got caught up in his throat at the sight of the girl he'd just barreled into. Her auburn hair was loose but gorgeously styled, her fancy dress was obviously for the coronation, it was an elegant white and purple, with elaborate designs in the front. She had the loveliest face he'd ever seen, prettier than Traitorous Crow, his affectionate nickname for the girl that had picked Elliott over him.

"I'm okay," she said, her tone much friendlier, "I wasn't looking either, Ser-?"

It took Andy a few seconds to process the fact that she was asking him his name. He bowed, "Prince Anders, of... well... Arendelle."

"Prince? My Lord," she curtseyed, lifting the sides of her dress slightly. She looked back up at him, "Princess Helena of the Southern Isles."

"Andy's fine," he said. "You're here for the coronation, then?"

"I am. I'm sorry for making the Prince of Arendelle late, and sorry for every moment after," she smiled at him. Definitely more pretty than Traitorous Crow, wow.

"Oh, it's fine. I'm not- not _that_ prince," Andy blushed, "you're thinking my brother Elliott. He's the one, uh, you'd like best," he said, half-joking.

"I like Andy just fine," she replied, vowing her head and looking at him through her eyelashes.

Andy's jaw stopped working and he felt the heat rise to his cheeks. He tried to come up with a coherent sentence, but all that was heard was the sound of bells ringing. Bells...?

He gasped, "Oh! The coronation. Elliott will be...I-I-I better go!" he turned to run, but then looked back, smiling apologetically and giving her a little wave, "Bye!"

Helena waved back, a knowing smirk on her face.

• • •

Elliott was relieved to finally see his brother arrive at the church chapel, and a few moments of preparation later, the ceremony began. Elliott was at the altar with the Bishop, and Andy stood to the side. Out of the corner of his eye Elliott saw his little brother waving at someone in the pews. Elliott wondered if _Traitorous Crow_, how his brother called an ex-girlfriend_, _had come crawling back. It didn't matter, though, because right then Elliott had to bow as the crown of Arendelle was placed upon his head.

_My father's crown, _a tiny voice said in the back of his mind piped up. _Conceal, be the good boy you always have to be._

Then the Bishop offered him the scepter and the orb on a pillow, and Elliott reached for them.

"Your Majesty," the Bishop whispered, "_the gloves_."

Elliott gritted his teeth, giving the Bishop a hard look, _remind me to behead you later, _he tried to joke inside his head to calm down his nerves but it was useless. His hands were shaking as he took the tip of the gloves in one hand and slowly pulled them off, placing them on the pillow.

He held his breath as he took the scepter and the orb in his now bare hands, turning to face the people. The Bishop started to pronounce words in formal Old Norse, about Elliott's duty to the kingdom and all that, but all Elliott could think about was the tingle in his fingertips as the scepter and orb slowly started to freeze over. _Don't feel, don't let them know!_

"...King Elliott of Arendelle," the Bishop said solemnly.

The crowd hadn't even finished replying with "King Elliott of Arendelle" and Elliott had already turned his back on them, exchanging the scepter and the orb for his trusty leather gloves before anyone could notice the ice. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and smiled shakily at his people.

He did it.

* * *

**+ thanks for the tumblr messages, tho i'd already picked some character names i liked some of the suggestions so i'll likely be using them in the future for new characters**

**++ differences will be hella more obvious in the next chapters, and from then on, i guess it'll take a different turn from disney's frozen**

**+++LASTLY i hope u enjoyed :) reviews make my day.**


	5. Love is an open door

It was the biggest party Arendelle had seen in 3 years.

For the first time in forever, springy music filled the Great Hall, a lively party full of guests laughing, dancing and eating and just enjoying themselves. Andy had never experienced something like it.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of mighty trumpets announcing the arrival of his brother.

"King Elliott of Arendelle," Kai proclaimed.

He still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that Elliott was now King, but in a good way, he was happy for him. Andy had vague memories of a smiling little kid with windblown hair and a light dusting of freckles on his face. Now before all the people stood a poised young man with hair slicked back, tall and handsome in a maroon cape and as always, the leather gloves. When had _that _happened? What kind of evolution had Elliott gone through, and where could Andy get one just like it?

All his life he'd thought of himself as the spare. The son that was never going to be King, never the heir. But he could be more than the extra button on a jacket, right?

Andy had stopped growing when he was 16, leaving him shorter than his desired height, but he was convinced he made up for it with his devilishly good looks and amazing personality. And a load of self-esteem, _of course_.

He'd seen his brother over the years, always with perfect posture and a measured smile. But he always left meals early, he always had some lecture to attend, and Andy was just left feeling rejected and angry. But Elliott was his only family, and brothers had to stick with brothers, yeah?

"Prince Anders of Arendelle!"

He was startled to see that everyone was staring at him, and then with the help of Kai's pointed look he realized he was meant to join his brother's side. He gulped. Oh. He set his shoulders back and raised his head, smiling kindly at the crowd of guests as he walked over to stand by Elliott, at a respectable distance, trying to avoid an awkward situation, but Kai was having none of it.

He ushered Andy over to stand _right _next to Elliott. For years Andy had noticed the staff had been trying to get the two brothers to get along again, Kai being one of the main schemers.

The music continued and Andy stood there, raking his brain to think of something, _anything _to say and break the heavy silence that had settled between them.

"Hey."

"..._hey_? Hey me?" Andy pointed a finger to his chest, never in his life expecting Elliott to be the one to actually speak first. His brother was smiling shyly at him, stormy blue eyes content for a change. "Oh! Um. Hey!"

"... you're looking quite handsome," Elliott said, a teasing smile he hadn't seen in his brother's face for _years_.

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Andy winked, his shoulders finally relaxing. "I met the most beautiful girl today."

Elliott's laugh was a godsend. When was the last time he'd heard that? Not a boyish giggle, but the deep laugh of his amused brother. Wow.

"I sure hope you don't introduce her to me," Elliott muttered, "we don't want another _Traitorous Crow_."

The comment probably should've stung, but Andy just found it funny. Elliott was obviously testing the waters. He probably didn't know how to interact with him, what jokes to make. Andy wanted to let him know, gods, he wanted to _cry out to the heavens_ that he could joke as crudely as he wanted, as long as he did not shut Andy out again. As long as they could keep this conversation going, Elliott could say whatever he wanted for all Andy cared. He hadn't realized how much he'd craved his brother's attention until that moment.

Suddenly Elliott's eyes narrowed, "What the...?"

"What? What is it?" Andy panicked for a second, scanning the room, trying to find the source of what had caught his brother's eye.

"The cake..." the King of Arendelle frowned.

"The cake?" Andy's eyes landed on the three layer cake with the blue frosting at the far end of the room and almost snorted, but that would have been un-prince-like, so he held it back.

The cake was like he'd left it hours ago, with the missing patch of frosting he'd swiped, and the hastily placed fish entrée was still stuck to the side. Looking at it now though, it looked ridiculous, the fish looked so sad stuck there where it didn't belong. Everyone must've thought they were either really eccentric or totally loony. He was fine with it. But he worried about what Elliott would think.

"Did you do that... _interesting_ decoration?" his brother's gaze turned to him.

"...no?"

"Andy."

"...maybe."

Elliott laughed, and Andy was so relieved, he laughed along. A good, throaty laugh. When was the last time they'd shared one?

"I wanted some frosting," Andy explained between laughs, "and, uh, things went wrong."

"I can imagine..." Elliott's eyes returned to the party. Andy's stayed fixed on his brother. He wanted to say so much, but couldn't think where to start. Maybe he should tell him, in all seriousness, about Helena, the princess that had seemed to come right out of a fairytale book-

"Your Majesty," Kai interrupted, "The Duchess of Sandlame."

"Sand_lane_! Duchess of Sandlane!" an elderly lady snapped, after curtseying at Elliott. She reminded Andy of the weird great aunt he'd met a million years ago, the one that was obsessed with foreign spices and rugs. She had a hook nose, and was wearing a fancy orange gown, with weird little birds stitched to the sides. Her hairstyle was so complex and piled up so high on her head Andy was afraid it would fall

"Your Grace!" she exclaimed, "As your closest partner in trade, I think it's only fitting we dance a good waltz!"

Elliott smiled tightly, "Thank you, Duchess. Only, I don't know how," he glanced sideways at Andy, "but my brother does."

Elliott knew about his private lessons? "How do you-"

The old lady cackled and hooked her arm through the younger prince's, "Lucky you!"

Andy yelped as he was dragged away to the dance floor by an old lady that was far stronger than she looked. Then again Andy wasn't very hard to push around. He made strangled noises at Elliott, but the King of Arendelle was trying to hold in laughter.

• • •

Elliott felt bad for about 5 seconds, but watching his little brother struggle to keep up with the Duchess' fast pace was too amusing. Andy looked just about ready to bolt when the old lady stopped spinning him around and decided to just dance around him instead, her bony elbows stabbing his sides now and then as she pranced around.

It had been a while since he'd laughed that hard, and it felt so _good _he almost forgot to catch himself before his emotions got too out of control. _Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know. _

Eventually Andy came back, cursing under his breath and rubbing his sore feet.

"You're rather fragile for one so young! But if you're up for a second round..." the Duchess wiggled her thin eyebrows, "I'll be over there, my lord!"

"Yes, of course!" Andy called back, but under his breath he added, "She has elephant feet I swear to-"

"Sorry," Elliott murmured, but his expression said he was not sorry at all. "You okay?"

Andy let his throbbing foot fall and smiled at his brother, "Yeah, actually... I've never been better. This is so cool. I wish it could be like this every day."

"Me too," Elliott said, meaning every word. Andy's eyes shone. But while looking at his face, Elliott felt a chill when he saw the white streak of hair. "_But it can't_," Elliott stiffened up, turning away from his brother.

"W-What? Why not? Elliott-"

"It just can't Andy!" Elliott almost growled.

"Ah..." Andy said, Elliott could hear the disappointment and sadness in his brother's tone, and it was breaking his heart. "Excuse me for a minute..."

Elliott turned just in time to see Andy walking away, head down.

He did it.

He hurt his brother _again_.

• • •

Andy sniffled, hoping to all the gods nobody saw it. Just when Elliott was opening up again, letting him back in- Andy had done _something, _something to make Elliott mad all over again. But what? He'd let the cruel joke slide, he'd danced with that crazy old lady for his sake, and all for...

Not looking where he was going, Andy managed to trip over his own feet, but luckily his hands latched on to something before he fell face-first- or more like _someone_.

He opened his eyes, which he'd automatically closed to brace himself for impact, only to find a vaguely familiar white material. Horrible embarrassment bubbled up from his stomach as he realized a couple of things- what he'd grabbed on to? The waist of Helena from the Southern Isles. The thing he was looking at? The back of her dress. "Prince Andy!" Helena spun around, and he quickly let her go, fumbling over his words and blushing furiously. She grinned, "If you wanted to dance, all you needed to do was ask!"

"I- I wasn't, um..." people had started to stare at what might have been harassment, which Andy swore it wasn't. He was just a clumsy, awkward disgrace. He tried to play it off by bowing, "May I have this dance, my lady?"

She smirked and clasped his hand, "Of course."

They moved around the dance floor for a while, and after Andy let her take the lead, she began to talk "I wanted to ask you myself earlier, but you were a little busy with some girlfriend."

Andy frowned. What was she...

"_The Duchess_?" he blurted, and she laughed, a sweet sound that made his insides flutter, "Oh, heavens, do I look like a gold digger to you? Or an archeologist perhaps?"

Helena laughed again as he spun her around, and then brought their bodies close together as they danced back and forth.

"I did it for Elliott," he muttered almost to himself.

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow, "And why didn't the King join the poor lady in her waltz?"

"I dunno. Elliott- he's... reserved?" Andy offered, feeling uncomfortable talking about his brother to a stranger, "He's not very social, I guess. We don't... He doesn't talk to me."

Andy didn't know why he was just saying those things. Those _personal_ things, but after how Elliott had treated him he didn't exactly care what his brother could think of him sharing that information. To his surprise, Helena's beautiful eyes were full of understanding as she cupped his cheek, "I know what you feel. I have 12 older sisters."

"_Twelve_-"

"Let's talk somewhere private, Andy?" She said, grabbing his hand. That's when he realized the music had changed and another song was starting. He let her guide them away.

•••

What he expected to be a 5 minute walk extended to _hours_.

She insisted that he show her the castle, so he did. While on the tour she talked about her life on the Southern Isles, and Andy listened intently, having never left his own hometown he longed to hear stories about places overseas. After what happened to his parents he didn't plan on getting on a boat anytime soon. Helena was actually very pleasant company, she was like an open door, while Elliott on the other hand had been a double locked vault of steel.

They managed to get a slice of the cake Andy had vandalized and they shared it, eating with their fingers on the balcony overlooking the celebrations outside the castle. "Wow," Helena said, "the view is so b-"

"-beautiful? I know, right?" Andy said, "like you!"

Helena blushed, "It's kinda crazy, Andy, how we finish each other's s-"

"Slices!" He finished, grabbing the last of the cake and stuffing it in his mouth.

"That's what I was gonna say!" Helena said quickly, but her face was one of bewilderment.

The tour kept going, and he confessed about his secret waltz lessons and she teased him about it. She told him about her equestrian lessons and he immediately wanted to change around the facts of his earlier story.

Later she asked about the streak of white in his hair. "Mama said I was born with it," Andy brushed it off, not wanting to share his theory about being kissed by a troll just yet.

She asked him lots of questions about himself, and Andy found himself loving her for not bringing up Elliott once or comparing them, her entire undivided attention focused on him.

Helena talked to him about her _12 _older sisters. "The oldest ones, the ones married to Lords and with a title pretended I was actually the gardener's daughter for 2 years," she told him, as they walked arm-in-arm through the royal rose garden. "But sisters are like that, I guess."

"And brothers." He laughed nervously, "Elliott and I were best friends when we were little. But then one day he... He just shut me out. And I never knew why. After that, all my life has been a series of doors in my face."

She smiled with those perfect white teeth, "I'd never shut you out."

"Wow, you'd be a good… sister."

As soon as the words left his mouth he wanted to kick himself. That was definitely _not_ what he thought of her; but sometimes Andy said stupid things and ruined everything. But Helena handled it different. Both of them standing in that moonlit garden, she turned him around to face her, her hands resting on his shoulders.

"Seriously? _Sister_?" She tilted her head in a cute way, her perfect lips forming a pout.

"...Friend?" Andy's heart was beating so fast he was sure Helena could hear it, standing as close as she was. She made an unhappy sound at that. His hands were sweating, but he tentatively placed them on her waist, "Girlfriend?"

"Hmmm keep trying..." She whispered, lacing her fingers behind his neck. He was delighted to be so close to her, so close he could see the little flecks of brown on her green eyes and the... was that _love_?!

He shifted nervously, "Fiancée?"

"Are you proposing to me, Anders?"

With newfound confidence Andy did _not_ know he had, he finished pressing their bodies together, both his arms around her "Would it be crazy?"

She laughed, "Would it be even crazier if I said yes?"

Before regret could even start flowing through his veins, Helena had pulled him down to a passionate kiss and every single thought that wasn't her soft lips or her nice smelling hair completely left his brain.

When she pulled back to grin at him, Andy's thoughts were racing. He could actually have a life outside his lonely world, closing that old painful door that had never opened for him and opening a new one instead- a door to love.

_Life could be so much more with_ _Helen_a, he thought, and with her name on his mind, he tilted her chin up for another kiss.

* * *

**+++never listen to the outtake song "More than just the spare" if u wanna lead a happy life cos it will destroy you. tried to add a little bit of the stuff from that song here, it was meant to introduce anna in an early frozen draft and it just mADE ME VERY UPSET OKAY.**

**++ in the next chapter things get... well. you know. andy's got to ask a certain someone for a blessing. how could that ever go wrong**

**+ thank you for reading! & i hope u enjoyed :)! Reviews are appreciated **(◡‿◡✿)


	6. The Party's Over

"... I think both our kingdoms would benefit from-" Elliott was saying, but the sound of Andy's loud entrance made him stop mid-sentence to turn and stare at his brother, who was pushing his way through the crowd, with a really beautiful girl with auburn hair in arm.

"Excuse me, coming through, coming... Oh! There he is. Elliott!" Andy bowed slightly, "I-I mean...King. Just me again, um... I'd like to introduce you to Princess Helena from the Southern Isles!"

"Your Grace," the girl, Helena, curtsied and smiled at him charmingly, Elliott was unimpressed, but nevertheless he bowed his head in return politely.

When they did not leave, Elliott realized Andy must have wanted something. He turned to Princess Rapunzel from Corona and her husband, Eugene, and bowed apologetically, "Pardon me, but I'm afraid we'll have to continue negotiations between our kingdoms at another time."

"That's alright, your Majesty," the short-haired brunette smiled kindly and grabbed Eugene's hand, "It's a party after all, so let's enjoy! Come on, Eugene, let's grab some cake."

"Oh you mean that monstrosity with the raw fish sticking out for no reason-" Rapunzel jabbed him hard in the ribs, and he laughed, "just kidding, I'd love some!"

Elliott suppressed a smile as he watched them walk away. Finally, he gave his full attention to Andy, who seemed to be growing impatient with whatever it was he wanted to tell him. "Yes?"

"So," Andy started, suddenly looking self-conscious, "We would like...if you could give us, um..."

Helena sensed him getting cold feet, and jumped to his rescue, squeezing his arm and saying, "Your blessing!"

"My... my blessing?" Elliott repeated, his brows furrowing, "I'm sorry, I'm confused..."

"Of our marriage!" they blurted out at the same time. Andy's doubts seemed to slip away with the bright smile the Princess was giving him, his green eyes wide and excited.

"Huh?" was all Elliott managed. What was his brother thinking? This must have been the girl Andy had mentioned earlier, so that meant... they had met that very day.

"We haven't figured out all the details yet, of course," Andy rushed on, "We'll need a few days to plan the ceremony. But for sure we'll include cake, lots of cake! And also- wait. Would we live here?"

Elliott opened his mouth to say something, but Helena cut him off by enthusiastically replying, "Absolutely!"

"Andy-" Elliott tried again, but his brother was on a roll.

"We can invite all twelve of your sisters to stay with us!" Andy grabbed both her hands and looked into her eyes, "we have plenty of room! We can-"

"_Twelve sis_- no. No, no, no, _no_!" Elliott grabbed Andy by the collar of his dress shirt, forcing him to look at his stern expression, "Slow down. No one's sisters are staying here. No one is getting married!"

"_What_?" Andy had the nerve to look surprised. Why did Andy have to be so reckless?

Collecting himself and breathing deeply, Elliott let go of Andy's shirt. _Don't let them see._ His brother could _not _be serious. Was this just some joke to set him off? Because if it was, it was working.

"May I speak to you, Andy?" Elliott pleaded, and when Helena made as if to move forward, he added, "Alone?"

Helena turned to Andy and gave him a hurt look, like a wounded deer. Elliott grit his teeth. This girl was playing Andy like an instrument. Andy hooked his arm through hers and puffed out his chest, "No. Whatever you have to say- you can say it to both of us." They nodded in unison.

"Fine." Elliott said dryly, "You can't marry some woman you just met."

"You can if it's _true love_!" Andy shot back, surprising Elliott. Andy never got like this. He was the definition of _laidback._ Elliott was treading unknown ground, which stressed him and scared him- years of not interacting had left him unsure of how to act around Andy. He barely knew how to do it when they were on friendly terms, let alone deal with him when he got like this.

Elliott narrowed his eyes, "Oh, Andy. What do _you _know about true love?"

"More than _you_," Andy's eyes were furious now, it looked so out of place from his usually smiling face Elliott felt all his body tighten with dread. Andy was _snapping. _After years, his brother was finally snapping. "All _you _know his how to shut people out!"

Wanting to avoid conflict at all costs, Elliott turned his back on them, "You ask for my blessing, brother, but... my answer is no. Now, excuse me," he started to walk away, wanting, _needing _to get out of there as fast as possible. Their argument had already attracted unwanted attention from the guests.

"Your Grace, if I may-" Helena made a gesture as if to grab the King's arm, but Elliott easily sidestepped her.

"No, you may not, and I-I think you should go." Elliott felt trapped. His poor control over his emotions was slipping so fast it wouldn't be long before his powers did too. And _that _would be disastrous.

"The party is over. Close the gates," he told the Royal Handler on his way out, walking at a brisk pace to just _get out of there_. All eyes were on him.

"Elliott, no! No, wait!" in a desperate lunge, Andy managed to grab his brother's hand and roughly pull off the glove from his left hand. _That_ got the King to stop dead in his tracks.

Elliott spun around, his eyes on fire, "_Give me my glove!" _

"Just _one _thing, Elliott, all I've ever asked of you is this one thing!" Andy's eyes were just as fierce as is brother's, if not more, "But you won't even give me _that._ I can't live like this anymore!"

"Then _leave_," Elliott growled, holding his ungloved hand close to his chest, his breathing becoming more and more agitated. _Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know. Conceal. CONCEAL. Control it!_

Andy's face crumpled, and the raw hurt in his brother's face was too much for Elliott. He, like he always did, turned his back on Andy and began to walk away, trying to get some sort of control over himself before the worst happened, like it had years ago.

"What did I ever do to you, you stupid jerk!" there was a low gasp from the crowd, their fight sure had everyone's attention now. He'd just insulted the King. But Elliott barely cared, he already felt the familiar tingling in his bare hand. "Won't you even tell me that? How did I offend you, why... _why do you hate me so much_?"

"Enough, Anders," Elliott gasped, his lungs suddenly needing air. A lot more air. He wasn't getting enough. Was that the beginning of a panic attack? He was almost at the door. He had to be alone, he had to control it.

"No! Tell me why. Why do you shut me out?!" Andy gestured at all the people present with Elliott's glove, "why do you shut the _world_ out? _WHAT ARE YOU SO AFRAID OF?!"_

_"I SAID __**ENOUGH**_!" Elliott's voice was a roar as he suddenly whipped around, moving his bare hand in a wide arc- with ice shooting out of it, and not just ice, tall spikes that would have impaled Andy had he not jumped back at the last second. The guests cried out in shock, backing away from the terrifying spikes. Elliott's breathing returned to normal after the outburst, like a load had been lifted from his shoulders, but his the worst-case scenario had just come true.

_Don't let them in, don't let them know._

"Elliott...?" all anger from a few seconds ago had been completely wiped off Andy's face. Confusion and awe replaced it, and maybe a flicker of understanding, but Elliott didn't linger on that now.

_Well now they know._

He opened the door behind him and ran.

•••

Elliott burst out of the castle doors and into the courtyard, where a crowd of people even bigger than the one inside were celebrating his coronation.

"It's the King!"

"Long live King Elliott!"

"Come drink with us!"

Blinded by terror, Elliott ducked through the crowd, holding his bare hand close to his chest in case another unwanted shot of ice escaped and if it did he wanted it to strike _him_. He didn't know where he was going, all he knew is that it had to be as far away from the party as possible and preferably _alone_.

But the people were closing in on him, their voices too loud, their faces too bright, until he'd backed away into the courtyard's fountain.

"Your Majesty? Are you alright?" a woman holding two little children approached him, but their presence just made Elliott's head pound harder.

"Please just-" he tried to keep his hand away from them by placing it behind his back, grabbing the fountain's edge; but it froze at his touch, turning the water into a frightening jagged sculpture.

Everyone gasped with shock and fear, and someone screamed. And to make things worse, the Duchess of Sandlane burst through the doors, in hysterics, screaming "Stop him! Stop that _monster_!"

The last word cut through Elliott like the sharp spikes in the Great Hall, but he continued to back away from the Duchess and everyone else, towards the gates.

"Just stay the hell away from me! I don't want-" he'd been raising both hands as a sign of surrender, but magic shot from his hand, turning the staircase to ice and causing the Duchess to slip and fall.

The apology died in his throat as the crowd began to panic and people poured out of the party, among them Andy, still holding his glove. The Duchess was screaming bloody murder as Helena helped her to her feet.

"Elliott!"

Elliott ignored his brother's cry, and he ran for the gates, which was easy thanks to the ringing in his ears blocking out everything and everyone else _but _his urge to get away.

"Elliot! Wait, please!"

He made it to the water's edge and his heart sank. There was nowhere to run. _Maybe I can just drown myself, _his thoughts filled with self-loathing suggested. But the thought of going back to that cage was unbearable. His salvation presented itself when the shoreline began to freeze under his feet.

"Elliott, stop!" Andy had almost caught up, with Helena close behind him.

Elliott tore his gaze away from his brother's desperate face and he stepped over the fjord, and to his immense relief, it froze instantly. He broke into a run, adrenaline making him run faster than he thought himself capable of; and with every step, the water froze creating an icy path.

He did not look back.

• • •

Andy made it to the fjord's ice Elliott's magic- _magic! - _had created, but all he managed to do was slip and fall, much like the Duchess had done, but he fell on his knees. He had enough time to watch Elliott's maroon cape disappear into the far shore, and up the mountains.

Just the day Andy decided to demand answers, was the day he got them alright. Well _that_ had answered one question, but it just created ten thousand more and just thinking about it made his head pound even worse. But the important thing was...

He finally _knew_. The reason he'd yearned for ever since he could remember, why he lost sleep at night sometimes. Why he'd felt unloved and rejected by his only brother... Elliott had probably been trying to protect him. Of course noble Elliott would. But why? They were brothers, Elliott would never hurt him with his powers. So why hide? Why isolate himself, and by doing that, kind of isolate Andy too.

_So THAT'S why he wore the gloves_, Andy thought._ He could've just told me!_

And that rose up a couple more questions: did their parents know? Of course they did. Every time he had asked his mother about Elliott, she'd got this really sad look on her face and his father just completely avoided the subject. Why did Elliott have powers, anyway? _Did one of his parents do, too_?

"Andy... Andy, look! The fjord!"

Andy was so distracted by his thoughts he hadn't noticed Helena placing a hand on his shoulder and gasping. He looked up.

The icy path where Elliott had stepped on to get to the other side was spreading alarmingly fast, until the entire fjord was frozen. It was like spreading butter on bread, only that Arendelle was the bread and the ice was the butter. Andy jumped up to see the ice reaching the ships from the other kingdoms; and with an extremely loud creak of wood, the ships tilted to their side and got locked in place.

Andy sneezed as a snowflake landed on his nose.

They were in the middle of July.

• • •

With Elliott gone, Andy decided it was up to him to get some sort of _order _ and calm down the people. He hoped a mob with pitchforks and torches hadn't gathered.

His first instinct was to go after Elliott. Talk things out. _Now _they had a lot to discuss. But he could not leave Arendelle in this state of panic, without a ruler. He moved through the panicked crowd, Helena clutching his arm, and every snippet of conversation he caught went along the lines of _snow? in July? _or _The King has cursed this land!_

Which wasn't good.

"Are you alright?" Helena asked him, eyeing him with a worried glance.

"No," he muttered, still in shock.

"Did you know?" she asked in a low voice.

"No..."

"_What the hell _are these _hideous_ things falling from the sky?" the shrill voice of the Duchess of Sandlane reached his ears, rising above all others.

"It's snow," Andy said walking up to the Duchess, still surprised by the fact himself, just saying it so casually like it was _normal _for it to be snowing in July.

_Elliott had made it snow. Elliott froze the fjord. He made ice spikes appear with a wave of his hand. Elliott... _

The duchess jumped back like Andy was vermin. She glared at the prince, "You!Is there sorcery in you, too? _Are you a monster too?_" she hissed.

"_What_?" Andy tried not to flinch at the last part. "No! I'm just... me. I'm nothing special."

"That's right!" Helena said. Andy frowned. "In a good way, of course," she added sheepishly, pecking his cheek.

"And Elliott's not a monster!" Andy felt really defensive of his brother, now that he _finally_ understood. Now that he had time to think back on it, Elliott had looked _terrified. _All his actions tonight had been an accident, driven by fear.

"He tried to _kill _me," the Duchess retorted.

"My lady, you slipped on ice." Helena rolled her eyes.

"Ice that _he _created!" the Duchess huffed indignantly, "if you hadn't been such a lovely girl and helped me up, I would have died right there!"

"Elliott didn't mean to do that! He didn't mean any of this, I... I made him mad. And with good reason," he ignored the pointed look Helena gave him, "He just got scared... I'll bring him back."

"But, Andy-" Helena started to protest.

Andy gave her a reassuring, but dismissive, pat on the arm and stepped on the frozen fountain, looking over the heads of everyone. With a surprising strong voice, he called:

"PEOPLE OF ARENDELLE!"

He didn't expect everyone to immediately drop what they were doing and listen. He was just the useless spare. Who would listen to him? But Helena had proved that wrong, and apparently, the whole town was going to.

"Yes, um, hi. It is me. Prince Anders," he said idiotically. He swallowed his nerves and tried to imitate the thing his father had done when he addressed the people. With empathy and reassurance. They had to think he had a plan, that it was all under control. "I know you're all scared! But so was Elliott. The outburst of the King was _my_ fault. So I'm the one that needs to go after him. There's absolutely nothing to worry about. I'll bring him back, and he'll stop the weather."

That was a weak speech, but it seemed to do the trick. Right away the air got a lot less tense and a bunch of people looked more at peace.

He stepped down and told the Royal Handler to bring him his horse.

"Andy, please. It's too dangerous. How is Elliott even going to thaw the fjord?" Helena said. "He most likely did that on accident."

"Elliott's not dangerous. And don't worry. I got a plan," the last part was true. A solution, the _perfect_ thing had just come to him. All he had to do was find Elliott and the early winter would stop.

The Royal Handler came back with Andy's sandy-colored horse and a travelling cloak. Andy thanked him and took the reins from him.

"I'm coming with you," Helena said, her eyes determined. "I'm an excellent rider and a good shot, I can-"

Andy laughed, "Whoa there. No one's getting shot. I'll bring Elliott back and we'll fix this."

"I didn't mean- like, to protect yourself, Andy. It's still dark, and you don't know what could be out there," Helena insisted, "You don't even know where Elliott went."

"I'll follow the storm... I'll find him. I know I can. Trust me! But meanwhile," he took her hand in his, "I need you here. To look after Arendelle. Yeah?"

She kept his gaze for a few more seconds but eventually she sighed in defeat and kissed his cheek, "Please be careful. I don't want you getting hurt."

Andy beamed at her as he hopped on his horse, "He's my brother. He would never hurt me."

He pulled on his cloak and yelled at whoever cared to hear, "I leave Princess Helena in charge!"

Andy snapped the reins and they sped away.

* * *

**++ thank you for all the reviews/follows/favorites, they mean a lot!**

**++ this was hella fun to write, the "Party's over" is one of my favorite scenes, so i hope u enjoyed it :)!**


	7. Let it Go

Elliott glanced around the highest peak of the mountain, the only sound was the howl of the wind which was almost as loud as the raging storm inside his head; luckily the latter was subsiding as his adrenaline left him and his thoughts cleared. The snow seemed to glow white, pure and untouched by anyone other than him, there were no other footprints to be seen. He was, essentially, alone. _At last._

_A kingdom of isolation, how fitting_, he thought darkly, _and it looks like I'm the King_. Elliott felt the pent up resentment rise from his gut and to his hands, icing them over. This was _not_ his fault. And it wasn't Andy's. So who was he going to blame?

_His parents_.

_Conceal, don't feel, don't let it show_.

But what if he could not conceal that part of himself? What if he _felt_? Nobody told him what to do if he _felt_, and he felt a _lot_.

What if it showed? What was he to do then? He couldn't hold it back anymore, and heaven _knows_ he tried.

Thinking about it was too painful, he hadn't looked back, not even once. And why would he? It was time to let go. The North Mountain was the perfect place. No one would be crazy enough to follow him there. Here he could be Elliott, the _real_ Elliott, and not have to worry about hurting others by being himself.

He stared down at his remaining gloved hand.

_Be the good boy you always have to be_, he thought back to all his lessons, all the aspects of his life which he could not control, all the decisions he'd had no say in. He had obeyed it all without questions, even at the expense of others.

_Andy_…

Well, now his brother knew. Now Andy knew after all these years the _reason_. All those years he'd been asking the question and, finally, he'd got an answer- in the form of an icy blast, but still an answer nonetheless. Actually, the whole kingdom got the answer to a question they never asked. Andy had been_angry_ for the first time, angry at _Elliot_. He'd demanded an explanation, and after Elliott gave it, he turned away and slammed the door- shutting Andy out yet _again_. It was becoming a vicious cycle.

_What are they going to think?,_a tiny part of Elliott's mind wondered.

An amazing realization dawned on him. _He didn't care._

With a hard yank, he took off his last lone glove and let it fly away to ride along the howling wind. A giggle escaped his mouth, and he was surprised by the sound.

Another feeling replaced the fear and anger in his gut— a sort of release. Who cared what the people back at the party were going to say? People like the Duchess of Sand_LAME_, he certainly did not care about her opinion.

In fact, he didn't care about anyone's.

A slow smile spread over his lips. He was free.

And he should not be mad at his parents. They could have had him shunned, banished, locked up- instead, they did all they could to protect him, taught him to conceal his powers. But Elliott didn't want them concealed. Not anymore.

Barely thinking about it, he flicked his wrist, and from the ground a snowman started to assemble itself. Short legs and a broad chest decorated with medals, thick arms holding a sharp ice sword, the head with a handlebar moustache and ice shards for eyes.

"It's good to see you again, General," Elliott saluted. He'd built tiny versions of the snowman to keep him company over the years, but usually no bigger than his head. He laughed; now the snowman was bigger, but still short enough so it was funny, it barely reached Elliott's waist.

He should have been freezing in his coronation outfit, but the bitter air didn't faze him. _The cold never bothered me anyway,_Elliott thought, and to make a point, he pulled off the pin from his cape and let it fly out on the wind to go and join his discarded glove wherever it might have landed.

The new distance between himself and the castle made all his previous worries seem small, all the fears that had once controlled him could _not_ get to him up in the mountain. _Would he be late for tutoring, should he write to the King of the North? Should he attend that meeting, would he accidentally freeze the soup he was eating?_

All the little things that had haunted him before seemed to insignificant now. _Would Andy come knocking today?_That had caused him the most stress every day. How to tell his brother he could not play with him, or ride outside the castle walls, or practice sparring with swords. But Andy was safe from him now, down in Arendelle. Where he couldn't hurt him.

_He'll be happy,_Elliott tried convincing himself, _with that Helena from who-knows-where._

Here he was free. He could do whatever he wanted. He looked down at his exposed hands, which had been covered for so many years he'd almost forgot all the lines and marks in them, the thin hairs and the light freckles. He clenched them. It was time to see what he could do.

•••

He ended up building a bunch of snowmen.

At first he modeled them after people he knew, his tutor Erik, Gerda who worked at the castle, and so on. For a while all of them were well-made, like General Winter, but Elliott started to get lazy and impetuous and decided to just mess around with his power. He made little lumps of snow with eyes and awkwardly shaped arms, with ice spikes for teeth. All those misshapen ones now decorated the mountain.

He made a _specially_ ugly Duchess of Sandlane with sharp teeth and exaggerated her hook nose up to a point where it looked ridiculous.

_Who's the monster now_, he thought, giving her troll-like feet, _for stepping on my brother while you danced. Ha!_

_Let's give you a buddy,_Elliott smiled wickedly and with a blast of snow another snowman assembled itself next to the Snow Duchess. The snowy face of Helena stared back at him, her ice eyes lifeless. _Good. Just like the original._Elliott added two little horns at the top of the Ice Princess' head and masculine sideburns, Elliott snorted with laughter.

When he was satisfied with his small army of snowmen, he decided to challenge himself. Build something he never had before, test the limits _and_break through.

He shot an ice beam in front of him, creating a surprisingly fine staircase with a snowy rail on both sides. He started to run up the stairs, laughing and shooting ice in front of him.

Elliott reached the flat surface across the void he'd just made crossable with his stairs; he slammed down his foot and a thick layer of ice spread from there, creating what in his mind would be the great hall. Then he built ice columns and high, mighty walls, archways and more stairs.

His new Ice Palace was going to be fantastic- no, his _Ice Fortress_.

He raised his hands high above his head and created the ceiling but he made sure it was really thin so he could see the sky, and he noticed with slight amusement, dawn was beginning to rise. But he could still see a few stars, the only witnesses to his creations, those distant little lights in the sky that had kept him company over the years as he'd gazed up at the velvety darkness though the window growing up. It seemed fitting that they saw him now, how far he'd come. How much fun he was having with his powers instead of being terrified of them.

His power flurried through the air, and he felt like he was the conductor of an orchestra, directing his magic to create all sorts of decorations and structures- entirely made of ice and snow. Elliott had never in his life imagined himself capable of creating something like _that_. Years of reading architecture books when he was bored out of his mind seemed to be paying off.

This creative release was so different, so exciting he wanted to cry. Letting go of all that fear that had held him back was absolutely wonderful. He ran up the stairs to the second floor which was just as amazing as the great hall below, but here he focused his magic on creating a balcony to overlook everything.

He was delighted at the result, the snowflake he'd created for the door that would lead to the balcony was so beautiful he felt his chest swell with pride- at the door and everything else, of course, but he was just really damn proud of that snowflake.

But there was still something weighing him down. He placed a hand gingerly on his head; the crown of Arendelle was still there. He took it off and stared at the handmade detail, the crown looked like it was woven with gold branches, with a beautiful jewel in the middle.

Elliott carelessly tossed it over his shoulder. That was from the past. He didn't need it. He ran a hand through his hair, letting the locks of blonde hair loose and fall over his eyes for the first time in forever. He'd usually made sure to keep it slicked back, with not a hair out of place, but now his hair looked windblown.

He looked down at his coronation outfit. Dark trousers and boots, his teal jacket and shirt with a bronze colored tie; his gloves and cape were gone, who knows where the wind had carried them.

Could he...

He raised his hands, and with a huge grin he watched a new material he'd never seen before start to crawl from his boots up. They became a steel blue color, with a fine layer of frosting on them. Next his trousers also became ice, and his upper half transformed into a sort of crystallized 'vest' with a belt; the sleeves of it the color of his boots and also with frost on the elbows and shoulders. He missed his cape a little, so he created a long, transparent one made of a sheer material decorated with snowflakes. He looked down at his reflection and smiled softly. He looked- and felt- like a completely different person.

Elliott walked over to the balcony as the transformation happened, he felt happy thinking his powers protected him from the cold those icy clothes would have caused otherwise. Maybe his _curse _wasn't all that bad.

As he suspected, a new pinkish dawn was rising over the horizon. He leaned over the rail, but he could not see Arendelle. Not that he _wanted_to, it was just an observation. Nothing but snowcapped peaks and a lone forest to keep him company; that and the coldest mountain air ever.

He stood there, in the light of day. _The cold had never bothered him anyway._Smirking, he turned and slammed the snowflake door he was so damn proud of.

•••

If Elliott had known better, he would have looked down at his previous play area, where a bunch of snowmen used to be.

_Now_ there were footprints to be seen, and his kingdom of isolation had subjects.

And maybe not necessarily the good kind.

* * *

**+++ Well some of u were asking about general winter- there he is! or, well, _was..._**

**++ guess this is where this takes a turn away from disney's frozen, kinda.. still leaning a little on the script tho. KRISTA coming next, omfg she's a cutiee**

**+i also focused a lot on the other versions of let it go, like the spanish libre soy and the french libérée délivrée theyre rlly nicee & helped write this chap.**

**if u have any questions drop by my tumblr askbox ive been getting a few over theree**

**thanks for reading!:)**


	8. Olga's Traveler Trade

Andy rode along two feet of snow, which was becoming deeper and deeper as the storm his brother had created raged on. Snowflakes landed on his hair, making the single streak of white in it look not quite so alone.

"Elliott!" he cried out to the forest, shivering and regretting his decision of coming in only his coronation clothes, "It's me, Andy! Your brother who didn't mean to make you freeze the summer!"

"I'm sorry! It's all my f-f-f-fault!" he kept yelling a long time later, with still no sign of the king. Had his horse not been a good Norwegian breed it probably would not have soldiered on for as long as it had.

He rubbed his horse's neck affectionately and told it, "Of course, none of this would've happened if he'd just told me his secret, ha... what a little shi- OH!"

His horse reared back, neighing in alarm. Andy tried to grab on but the cold had numbed him so much he went flying, landing on a bank of snow.

"Wait! No! You traitor, wait!" he watched helplessly as his horse ran away, scared for some reason. "Coward!"

He scowled, looking around, but saw nothing. Just the rustle of some leaves on a bush but how could something that small scare his horse so much? For a split second he thought he heard a laugh, but it was probably just the wind.

"Or maybe just a bunny," Andy patted snow off his arms and legs, "Brilliant."

•••

The prince struggled, out of breath, to the top of a hill, hugging his sides and cursing every particle of snow that his brother summoned on this land. He'd been ranting for the last hour to no one really; he was used to talking to himself and the furniture of the castle after Elliot-_well_...

"It-had-to-be-snow," he huffed, reaching the top of the hill, "He could have had the power of flight, power to become invisible, but _nope_! Elliott just had to go and turn Arendelle into a massive ice cube. How fun. Or maybe he could've had, like, power over the Earth, like the trolls, or power over- _FIRE!_" With the look of pure joy he got on his face, one would have thought the prince had just seen a mountain of gold, but no; it was just the smoke from a little cabin at the bottom of the other side from the hill, across a stream.

He raised his head and arms to the sky, catching sight of the beautiful Northern Lights, "_Thank you_! Nice, warm fire at last!"

He started to sprint down the hill, but his calculations on the slipperiness of the rock below were wrong because he ended up tripping and rolling down the hill, landing on the frozen stream below.

"Jeez! Ah...why... me..." his trousers stuck to his legs, icy water making his skin crawl. He hurried to the small cabin, but by the time he made it to the steps, the cold air had already frozen his trousers stiff making it hard to walk. He looked up at the sign, covered in snow. He hit the sign with his palm and the snow fell off so he could read; "**OLGA'S TRAVELER TRADE**."

"So basically, Olga's T.T," he read, and then almost giggled at how _that _sounded out loud, but kept his composure. He was a prince, wasn't he?

He waddled like a penguin towards the door and went in, his frozen legs making the simple task ten times harder since he couldn't really bend his knees. A little bell dinged above him.

It was a nice little shop, but Andy was disappointed to see that most of the stuff on the shelves was more summer-oriented. Yes, it was the season, but that wasn't what he was looking for at that moment. He longed for a bear pelt after trudging through snow for hours.

"Hoo hoo!"

Andy would have jumped had his legs not been frozen. A woman with rosy cheeks sat behind the counter, she had broad shoulders and a kind face; her hair in a tight knot at the top of her head.

"Hi," Andy said.

"Summer sale! Everything 50% off due to unexpected veather conditions," she spoke in a thick accent.

"Oh, nice, but actually... I'm going to need some winter gear, please? Do you have any winter boots, and a nice warm cloak?"

She looked disappointed but gestured at the other side of the store, "That vood be in our vinter department, ja?"

Andy did his penguin-walk to the other side and grabbed a magenta cloak. He made a face, "Do you have any other colors?"

"Nay, sorry for inconvenience," she said, "it's all that's left from the vinter stock."

"Not really my color, but it'll do," he muttered, grabbing dark blue pants and some boots. "By the way, um, Olga? Have you seen anyone else out in the storm? I don't know, someone like The King perhaps?"

"The only crazy enough to be out in the storm is you, dear," she said as Andy placed his selected items on the counter. Suddenly the door swung open and the mass of a person covered in ice stepped in.

"_A YETI_!" Andy yelled, trying to jump back but only managing to bump his back against the counter. He vaguely knew those ice creatures by name, they lived too far away, so why was one-

"I'm not a yeti," she said in a slightly scratchy voice. Almost husky.

_She_.

"Oh, you're a girl!" Andy said, relief all over his face. He peered at her closely.

Under the dark gray bobble-hat and the snow that caked most of her body, he could see blonde locks cut choppy and uneven with thin strands braided on either side of her hair. It actually looked kinda good. There were snowflakes in her eyelashes, and he could see the hazelnut eyes glaring at him.

"_What_?" she snapped.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm glad you're not a yeti," Andy commented, admiring her outfit that looked so much more comfortable and apt for the weather than his coronation clothes. Most of it was dark, lined with nice light brown furs here and there, mittens and a nice set of boots. It had different colored patches like on the elbows and knees, so the outfit had probably seen a few storms already.

She was shorter than him, but he could just _tell_, that girl could have lifted him off his feet and thrown him across the room, maybe. She looked well-built, she was maybe a mountain woman? Why else would she be out in the storm...

She rolled her eyes, not caring anymore about his blatant staring anymore, and started grabbing supplies from around the shop. A pickaxe, rope, a bag of apples...

"A real howler in July, ja?" Olga said brightly, "Where could it be coming from?"

"The North Mountain," the girl replied curtly, still gathering things. Her voice was muffled by the scarf that covered from her nose and down.

"The North... _ah_," Andy felt a spark of excitement. The source, then. _Elliott_.

He didn't mind when the girl cut the line and dumped her things in the counter. In fact, he remembered Helena's words: _It's still dark, and you don't know what could be out there_. His horse was gone. He didn't want to be next. He needed help from someone that knew the area well enough.

His train of thought crashed when he heard Olga and the girl arguing.

"Olga, please! It's always been 10, I... I can't afford 40!" the girl's muffled words were a mix between desperate and annoyance.

"Sorry, dear, that's no good. Those are supplies from the vinter stock, where supply and demand carry problem, ja?"

"Ha! You wanna talk about supply and demand problems?! I sell ice for a living!" the girl pointed out the window, where a lone sled filled with blocks of ice waited.

"You're an ice harvester?" Andy said, raising his eyebrows. "Oh, you're ruined!" the girl gave him a withering look and Andy coughed, "Ahem. Err. That's... sorry."

"Forty." Olga said firmly. "Ten vill only get you the apples, dear."

"Hold on, mountain woman- what's happening in the North Mountain?" Andy said, and then in a low voice, "did it look out of the ordinary, like...magic?"

The girl pulled down her scarf, revealing light freckles across her nose and a thin scar on the side of her jaw. _Wait, what? _Why was Andy noticing... it didn't matter. She nodded. "_Yes_, like magic. It was a blizzard like I've never seen before... now, please, just let me deal with this thief here..."

The woman behind the counter stood up to her full height, something like 7 feet, the bun at the top of her head reached the ceiling and Andy got the urge to run away but he was rooted in place.

"_Did you just call me a thief?"_ A shadow was cast over Olga's face, making her look 10 times more scary.

The girl's eyes widened.

•••

Olga came back and sat behind the counter, like she hadn't just picked up that blonde girl like she was the lightest thing in the world and tossed her out the door, to the snow. Andy watched from the window as the girl picked herself up from the snow, and patted it off. A reindeer with really light brown fur nudged her arm, and she placed a hand on its snout, shaking her head. Then he saw them walk away, to what appeared to be the stables of Olga's Traveler Trade.

The large woman squeezed herself back behind the counter and sat low, her face once again pleasant.

"Sorry about all the violence," she said, and from the folds of her skirt or somewhere Andy couldn't see and _didn't _want to know, she pulled out a book, "I'll gift to you this book, so we have good feelings. Ja?"

She didn't wait for his answer and thrust the book at him. He didn't want to offend her, "Thanks..."

"_Arendelle: A History_." Andy pursed his lips. His history tutor had _loathed _that version. "Inaccurate" "Too many unrealistic things". By _that _he knew it meant... _magic_. Spirits, naiads, trolls, dwarves that sort of-

Andy slapped his forehead, "Duh! Maybe I can find out something in our lineage about Elliott's- oh my... this is... our ancestors..."

Olga blinked, "Vat?"

"Nothing! Just... thank you. Truly."

"So the outfit and the boots, ja?" Olga asked good-naturedly.

Andy bit his lip and looked from the book in his hands, to the supplies the girl had left on the counter, and to the window. He sighed.

• • •

"..._forty!_" Krista mocked in Olga's heavy accent, "_I know you're all alone and gotta provide for two, but I'M the one with a supply and demand problem, dear. Ja? JA?!_"

Suri snorted and folded her long legs, laying down on the sort-of-clean barn floor. Krista finished defrosting her clothes near the fireplace. If Olga found out they were freeloading in her barn... she shuddered. That woman could be scary when she wanted to.

"_You can do without the supplies_," Krista said in Suri's goofy voice, "_Still mad you didn't get me any apples though._"

The reindeer nodded like it agreed with her voiceover, antlers almost poking Krista in the eye as she settled down next to her friend.

"Oh, shush. Did you get a chance to see who was inside?" Krista lay her head down against her improvised hay bed.

"The Prince, girl. Anders... Andy," the thought of the Prince staring at her with those wide green eyes made her blush. Had it been in a judging way or in a good way, Krista hadn't been able to tell.

She'd seen the prince rarely over the years, but that streak of white on his hair was unique. Prince Elliott- or rather, King- herself and her troll family were the only ones that knew where that had really come from.

"He asked me about the North Mountain, you know, where the-" Krista stopped short and frowned. Where that weird storm had been coming from. The really _unnatural _storm. That's right, his older brother had come of age today...

"Why wasn't the prince still at the coronation party?" Krista wondered out loud. Her stomach growled.

"_Apples_," Krista moaned in Suri's voice. That one word the reindeer understood, and she grunted, nuzzling Krista's arm.

"Thanks for nothing Olga," Krista muttered and patted Suri's head, "Reindeers are better than people. Don't'cha think that's true?"

"_People are the worst!_ _People will beat you and curse you and cheat you!_" Suri punctuated every one of Krista's words stomping her hoof against the wood floor. _Hear ye, hear ye_. Krista laughed and added, still in her reindeer voice, "_Every one of em's bad, except you!"_

"Aw, thanks girl," Krista smiled, ignoring the hole in her stomach. "I'll find us something in the morning, yeah?" she let herself fall back down on the hay, closing her eyes. "G'night."

She'd worry about magical storms and princes in odd places tomorrow...

"_HELLO!_"

The door to the stables swung open and Krista jumped with a start, her heart leaping to her throat. There stood the Prince, smiling sheepishly. He'd changed from his previous fancy outfit to some winter gear, a magenta cape with a matching cap, blue mittens that were holding a thick leather-bound book.

"I almost went into cardiac arrest," Krista growled, holding a hand to her chest and it felt like a hummingbird was trapped there.

"But you didn't!" the Prince said brightly. Then he turned serious. "I need you to take me to the North Mountain."

"Do I look like a tour guide to you?" Krista said, it came out harsher than she intended and she cringed inside.

Prince Anders-or, well,- Andy, puffed out his cheeks and frowned. He wasn't used to having orders turned down. He tucked the book under his arm and from somewhere beyond the door Krista couldn't see, he pulled a sack and tossed it at her feet. From inside spilled the supplies she'd been intending to buy.

She looked from the things to the Prince's expectant face and back at the supplies. She picked up the new pickaxe and almost smiled. Almost.

"Take me up the North Mountain, please, mountain woman."

"You have a death wish? With all that snow-"

"Look, I know how to stop this winter," Andy said, less patient now, "I'm probably, like, the only one that knows."

And then it hit her. But she was careful to hide her emotions.

_King Elliott_. Had fear consumed him? Had the King snapped? Had Grand Pabbie's words come true? Was he the one up in the North Mountain creating all the bad weather?

_Probably,_ Krista thought, _Grand Pabbie said there was danger in his magic, and if he hadn't learned to control it_...

And then, of course, her ice business. She made up her mind.

"I'll help you..." Krista said slowly, biting her lip.

"And, seriously, if you don't take me- wait. What? You will? Great!" Andy grinned, "Thank you, mountain woman!"

"The name's Krista," she grumbled, and lay back down, closing her eyes, "We leave at dawn."

Another sack landed, this time on her lap. She cracked one eye open, just to see a bunch of red apples.

"We leave now!... Please. Right now. It can't wait. It's a matter of life and death. Of no summer or eternal winter, of..." he trailed off.

Krista sat up again, studying the jittery Prince with a raised eyebrow. All he planned to bring along was that book? Was _that _ bunch of papers supposed to stop the ice-crazed King, a.k.a, his brother?

She took a bite from the apple, and without taking her eyes off the Prince's, she handed the rest of it to the eager Suri who chomped it down in one bite.

"Fine. We leave _right _now."

* * *

**++++ AHH thank u so much for the reviews, i love reading them! so i posted this a little earlier than i originally planned as thanks!**

**+++ & about Olga- that's kinda how Oaken sounded to me so i thought i'd just write it that way, no offence or anything intended**

**++ so a Helena chapter is coming up one or two from this one, and i'm going to need some suggestions for names because... 12 sisters. yeah. **

**+ the next chapter is lookin really good so far- well i loved writing it, so i hope u all will enjoy reading it also!**

**thanks for reading!:)**


	9. Unending Winter

Suri raced at top speed through narrow cliffs and tricky paths, pulling the sled with Krista at the reins and the Prince of Arendelle beside her. The reindeer had got newfound energy from the batch of apples Andy had so generously provided, going so fast Krista figured they'd reach the mountain soon. She was nervous going through a forest that was just all the darker thanks to the tall canopy of the trees.

"Hey, it's okay, you know." The Prince broke the silence.

"...excuse me?" Krista saw him picking at his new magenta cloak out of the corner of her eye.

"That you, uh, talk to yourself?" Andy said shyly. Krista pressed her lips together and focused on the path. Andy quickly added, "It's okay! I do it all the time. It's... comforting. Kinda heard you talking to...Suri in the barn. Yeah."

Krista shook her head and changed the subject, "So what caused the King to go all ice-crazy?"

"Hah! That's the second time!" Andy struggled to sit upright from his previous slouching, and raised an accusing mitten-covered hand at her.

"Second _what_?"

"Second time you've slipped up, mountain wom- _Krista_. I didn't tell you _who _or _what _ had caused the eternal winter. How'd you know it was Elliott? You're hiding something from me, I can tell." Andy said. If her hands had been free Krista would have probably slapped herself. So the Prince was not as airheaded as he looked. "That's okay, though, I'll respect your reasons. I'll figure it out eventually," he smiled cheekily.

"What was my first giveaway?"

"You know me. I don't know how, but you _recognized _me-"

"Well, you _are _ the prince-"

"No. Like, you knew _knew _me. I know what I'm saying, okay? Your eyes just... never mind. So let me tell you about my brother's meltdown... it was all my fault."

Krista tried not to give anything else away, but she remembered all those years ago; Andy's unconscious form after his brother had struck him with his powers. Thanks to Grand Pabbie he did not remember anything, but Krista did.

"Okay, go on," she told him.

"I met my soul mate today and we got engaged, and when I told Elliott he just- he freaked out! And then he had the nerve to say he _wouldn't bless our marriage_! And I-"

"Wait, wait, wait... you _got engaged to someone you just met?_" Krista said, incredulous. _What?_

"Yeah. Anyway, I got like _real _mad because, honestly, I wasn't asking for my weight in gold or anything impossible! So he got mad and wanted to do his classic storming out, that _drama queen_, and I wasn't about to have any of that! So I grabbed his glove-"

"_Hang on_! You mean to tell me you were gonna marry some stranger that made goo-goo eyes at you?!" that was probably really disrespectful, but Krista was astonished. _What _was wrong with royals?!

Andy didn't seem to mind, though. He rolled his eyes. "Yes, keep up. But the _thing_ is... he wore those stupid gloves _all _the time. So I just figured he had a thing about germs and dirt, yeah? A neat freak, maybe..."

Krista rolled her eyes right back, "Didn't your parents ever warn you about strangers?"

"Yes..." Andy scooted a little away from her, looking her up and down, "Yes they did, mountain woman." He sighed like a love-struck teenage girl, "But Helena is no stranger!"

"Is that so?"

"It is so."

"Do you even know _anything _about her?" Krista wasn't about to humor him. In this matter, she agreed with King Elliott. An arranged marriage she could _maybe _understand, but Andy was jumping into things for no apparent reason. Was he doing it to make the King mad?... maybe. Krista didn't know enough to judge much.

"Helena's got _lots _of amazing qualities!"

"Oh, yeah?" Krista snorted, "Like what?"

"She can ride horses really well."

"Wow. Wife material right there." Krista chuckled, "What else?"

"She has 12 older sisters."

"_What? _Are her parents half rabbit?"

"Ha-ha. No."

"Seriously. That's a _lot _of children... she's royal, obviously?"

"Princess Helena, yeah."

"Huh. That's a lot of children to marry off... what's her last name?"

Andy hesitated, "Um. Of-the-Southern-Isles?"

"What's her best friend's name?" Krista was a bit surprised by how much she was enjoying the prince's company. She'd never expected it to feel so... normal. Like Andy didn't feel superior to her.

"Not Krista, rest assured."

"What if you hate the way she sings? What if you hate the way she snores? Have you had a real date yet?" teasing him was actually really fun. Krista added jokingly under her breath, "What if you hate the way she farts?"

"Wait- girls _fart_?" Andy looked shocked.

Krista scoffed, "_Yes_."

Talk about inappropriate subjects to discuss with none other than the _prince_. She felt the tip of her ears get warm.

Andy nodded slowly, "Well that's brand-new information. Thanks for that."

He didn't look revolted, like she'd expect some snooty people of his status would be. She wondered how _Princes Helena _would react to a conversation about farts. The thought almost made her giggle.

"But it doesn't matter! It's true love, so it's all good." Andy folded his arms in front of his chest, and Krista raised her eyebrows; he actually seemed to believe it.

"Sorry, but that doesn't sound like _true love_."

"Jeez, you sound like Elliott! You'd get along. You a part-time love expert, part-time ice harvester?"

She shrugged, "Nah. But I have friends who are."

Krista wondered if bringing up the trolls was a good idea. Could that trigger the prince's memory somehow? Get him to remember that fateful night?

But what did it matter, anyway? Andy knew his brother's secret. She might as well just _tell _him. But telling him would involve confessing that she had been there that night, and she wasn't sure about _that_.

"Your friends are _love experts_? Ha!" he slapped his thigh and pretended to crack up laughing, "I'd love to meet them!"

She'd been so distracted by the conversation she hadn't noticed Suri slowing down and then just completely stopping. In the middle of the path. The only light came from the lantern hanging to the side of the sled. The reindeer's ears perked up, she started pawing at the ground and making nervous noises.

"Prince Andy, can you be quiet-"

"No, no, no, I wanna know _all _about the love experts-"

She clamped a hand over his mouth, "Shh! I mean it," she hissed. She grabbed the lantern and squinted at the ominous forest, trying to make out the shapes in the dark. Andy batted her hand away and leaned over, trying to get a look for himself.

"What is it, girl?" Krista muttered at her reindeer, "Wolves?"

From behind a tree, a really large snowball with icicles for teeth appeared, twig arms bent at awkward angles. It blinked at them, and they blinked back.

"_What the hell_-" the Prince's eyes were wider than she thought humanly possible, as was his open mouth of horror.

"_DON'T FEEL,_" the little monster said in a piercing voice, "_CONCEAL IT_."

"Suri, go. _Go_!" Krista swallowed the terror building up in her chest and tugged at the reins, Suri took off, and if she'd been a dog Krista was sure her reindeer's tail would have been between her legs.

"_DON'T LET THEM KNOW_!" the _living _snowball screamed after them, the chilly voice freaking out Krista to her core. From her peripheral vision she saw the snow monster dragging itself towards them with its arms.

"_Ohmygodohmygoodnessholyshit_," Andy had brought up his legs close to his chest, his arms were gripping the dashboard of the sled- trying not to fall off. Suri was going faster than ever before, her heavy panting and the snowman's wailing ringing in Krista's ears.

"Did Elliott create... _that_?" Krista said, her voice surprisingly calm compared to the distress she felt.

"I...well. I don't know. Probably. His power..." Andy held his fist close to his mouth, he would've probably been biting at his thumbnail if not for the mittens. "He can create life..." For some reason he was holding that ancient book about Arendelle like it was his lifeline. He kept glancing down at it, as if wanting to read it, but with the speeding sled and the dark it would have been impossible.

"What did that thing mean by _'don't feel?' 'don't let them know'_?" Krista said nervously, the snowball's screams getting further and further away.

"_I don't know_! And conceal _what_? Why would Elliott create such a thing- _LOOK OUT_!"

Krista turned her head just in time to see a _lot _more of those snowy little abominations emerging from the forest on either side, all of them glinting eyes and sharp ice teeth. Most of them looked like they'd been trampled and lazily but back together, they were just poorly made.

A nightmarish chorus of screams and cold laughter came from the living snowmen pack. One of them actually managed to jump at them, but Krista knocked it away with a hard kick, making it come apart into a sad pile of snow. The twig arms that were left on the ground were still twitching though.

"Prince, uh- there's a torch on the back. Can you maybe-"

Andy was already on it, he hopped to the back of the sled and grabbed her torch, made it back up front, and lit it with the lantern's already burning fire. He made a wide arc with the flaming torch and the snowmen that were advancing on them hissed at the heat. They retreated a little, but the bolder ones still came close and all Andy had to do was get it near them so they started to melt.

Suddenly the world became a lot brighter. They were out of the dark forest, at last- the trees didn't hide the light anymore. Krista exhaled with relief, the beginning of dawn made things a lot less scary. Suddenly Suri cried out in alarm and Krista's eyes went wide- there was a massive gorge ahead. A huge drop down, and even though the snow at the bottom was fresh, they probably would not survive it if they fell.

Suri could make the jump.

_Not with the sled though_, Krista thought sadly. She took the torch from Andy, handed him a satchel with supplies, and gestured at Suri, "Get on her back, now."

"No way! I'm not-"

"Not asking," Krista retorted, and with effort and brutish force she picked up the prince and managed to place him onto Suri. She unhooked Suri's harness from the sled, and with her other hand managed to put out the torch by burrowing it on a crazy living snowball that had caught up and launched itself right to her waiting fire.

"Get ready to jump Suri!" she called, and looked over her shoulder, at the small army of snowmen that were sliding through the snow towards them. Without the sled slowing her down, Suri charged ahead.

"_A KINGDOM OF ISOLATION!_" the garbled speech of one called.

Krista forced herself to look away. Suri easily made the jump, getting the Prince safely across. Good. She grabbed a few last-minute things and- there. At the bottom of the sled.

**Arendelle: A History**

The gold letters caught her eye. She bit her lip. Andy had seemed to really cherish that old thing. She quickly snatched it up, and just in time the sled left the ground. But it was losing momentum fast.

Without thinking she leapt off, using the dashboard as a launching pad. She flapped her arms, desperately trying to reach the other side. She almost didn't make it. Almost.

Andy's firm grip caught her arm, kneeling by the snowy cliff. He smiled, "Hello."

"Pull me up!" she shrieked, clawing at his arm and kicking her dangling legs.

Grunting, the Prince pulled them both to safety. Krista collapsed face down in the snow, breathing heavily. Behind her several angry snowmen cried out in outrage:

"_THE COLD IS PART OF ME_."

"_LET IT GO. COULDN'T KEEP IT IN."_

A group of them started to chant:

"_YOUR FUTURE IS BLEAK! _

_YOUR KINGDOM WILL SPLINTER! _

_YOUR LAND SHALL BE CURSED WITH UNENDING WINTER_!"

"_BEWARE THE FROZEN HEART_."

Krista sat up immediately, recognizing the last part. That was part of the ice harvester's song, what they sang in the mountains. _How _did those little buggers know the lyrics?

She twisted herself around to see the mob of snowmen at the other side, and noticed there were less and less. And then she saw why. Several of them plummeted to their deaths trying to jump the huge gap. They were scary as hell, but not very smart.

She carefully crawled to the edge and saw, with a wince, the splintered mess of wood that had once been her beautiful hickory sled. She felt an unpleasant warmth behind her eyes. _She'd just paid that off!_

"I am _so _sorry," Andy said, suddenly also peering down right next to her. "I'll replace your sled, I promise! And everything in it- _oh_," he patted his chest, and then his pant pockets, "Where is it?!"

"This wouldn't fit there," Krista sighed, exhausted, and held up the book she'd rescued from the doomed sled.

"Thank you!" Andy took it from her hands, his face lit up with excitement. He hugged it close to his chest and grinned at her, with those green eyes that looked even better in the light of day. "Krista I-" he caught himself and pursed his lips. "I'm sorry. I didn't know about those-" he pointed with his chin at the last suicidal snowman that jumped off and joined the others at the bottom of the ravine.

Krista mentally thanked every deity she knew for those things _finally _shutting up.

"It's- It's fine." She managed, and then Suri was beside her, licking the side of her face happily. "A little adventure never hurt nobody."

• • •

They sat like that for a while, probably just glad they were alive, a calmness over them that didn't fit with what had just happened. Andy propped himself up on his elbows, the precious book he'd almost lost on his lap. He had half a mind to just read it, but there were other things occupying his attention right then.

Elliott, his darling brother, had created a bunch of homicidal snowmen. On accident, on purpose? Let them loose so Andy didn't find him? And _what was up _with all the random statements? He tried not to let it bother him, but _everything _those snowmen had said bothered him. Especially that last group that had said in unison:

_YOUR FUTURE IS BLEAK! _

_YOUR KINGDOM WILL SPLINTER! _

_YOUR LAND SHALL BE CURSED WITH UNENDING WINTER_

He chewed his lip and looked at Krista, who had been quiet, one hand scratching the back of Suri's head. At first he'd thought she seemed a little mean and kinda rude, back at Olga's T.T and the barn, but she'd proved him otherwise. Maybe they could actually be friends, she seemed like the type he'd like to be friends with, maybe. He didn't really have a lot of friends.

She'd lost her hat along the way, and he remembered the blonde hair whipping behind her as they sped through the forest- wait, _what_? He shook his head. He'd stared at Krista to last a lifetime, probably. But there was just _something_, like, she was so tiny but she'd still easily scooped him up and placed him on Suri's back and she harvested ice for a living and her best friend was a reindeer and she was so young to be on her own... His age maybe?

He let out a puff of air, his face flushed. His thoughts were all over the place. _Stop_. Instead he focused on how much his body ached, how _hungry _he was, what _was_ Helena doing? And the rest of Arendelle. Yes, them too.

He hoped with every fiber of his being other snowmen- if there were any more- had not made it to the village. He grimaced, imagining the panic and chaos that would follow.

"Apple?" Krista offered him the red fruit, the satchel she threw with him open. Suri was finishing an apple of her own, munching happily.

"That the last?" he asked.

She shrugged, and held it up to his face.

"No- you eat it. I'm fine." His growling stomach called him out on the lie. He glared down at it.

"I insist, Lord Anders," She said, a small smile on her lips.

"You'd think a near-death experience would get some trust going. Andy is fine." He took the apple from her. "I've always hated formalities, ugh."

"Okay, my Prince," Krista smirked. Andy scowled and stuck out his tongue, and then concentrated on splitting the apple in half. After a few tense seconds he finally managed it, a pleased smile on his face.

"Here," he didn't wait for her reply and placed the other half on her lap. He took a bite of his own, "We should get going."

"We should." She agreed.

But neither of them moved.

* * *

**++ i meant to double check it but in the end i just kinda posted it how it was so sorry about mistakes! also used a bit from the 'prophecy' they didn't use in the final frozen film cos of reasons**

**+ thank you so much for all the reviews/follows/faves!**

**& thank u for reading :)!**


	10. General Summer

**Sorry i know A/N are annoying at the top but i recommend listening to the deleted frozen song "More than just the spare" because its sorta relevant in this part and yeah just a suggestion. enjoy!**

* * *

"Are you afraid?"

Andy blinked at her, "Should I be?"

They walked along the rim of a mountain, her hand gripping Suri's harness- to steady herself or the reindeer she didn't even know anymore. The Prince walked along beside her, holding the Arendelle book like it was his child. He had told her he'd read it later, because according to him there were _'things to be learned'_ from it.

"I should be afraid, shouldn't I?" Andy frowned. "But I'm not. Is that weird?"

Krista didn't know. She should have been, but like Andy, she kind of wasn't. The little monsters screeching and blurting out lyrics from the ice harvester's song had really bothered her though. Those things no taller than a troll had troubled her a lot; she didn't want to find out if the King had created any others and if so, she did not want to meet them. But as _afraid_ as she should have been feeling? Not even close.

Andy's unyielding faith in his brother was outstanding. She wondered, if she'd ever had a sibling- a _real _human sibling- would she be doing the same for them if this were their situation?

"Why are you going after the King?" Krista said. "He ran away, didn't he?"

"He's my brother," he replied almost automatically. "I need to find him."

"But usually when people go to the mountains, it's cos they wanna be alone," Krista said slowly. "Maybe he doesn't _want _to be found."

"Is that why you go to the mountains?" Andy said. She glanced at him with slight irritation, but there was no malice in his voice, he looked genuinely curious.

"I go out of _necessity_, mostly. Harvest some ice, yeah?" she said, the annoyance gone from her face. "That's what I live from. But sometimes the distance is... nice."

"Why are you an ice harvester anyway?"

"That's what my dad was."

She almost clamped a hand over her own mouth. _Why _had she told him that? Andy had his lips parted- like he wanted to ask. Probably deciding against it, he pressed his lips together and nodded, leaving it at that.

But then he opened his mouth again and started to say something, but the words died in his throat and his eyes widened.

"Arendelle," he whispered.

The three of them stopped abruptly. They had reached a clearing; where far below, nestled in the fjord the kingdom of Arendelle was covered in snow. Every high structure she could see from up there was covered in white. A huge cloud was buffeting the kingdom with hail.

"It's completely frozen," Krista said in awe. She hadn't actually _seen _ the kingdom, just the snow coming from the North Mountain and Andy's poor description of what had happened. She could only imagine what the Prince was feeling, seeing the state of his home.

"It... uh, it'll be fine. Elliott will thaw it." Andy said confidently, but his eyebrows were drawn together in uncertainty. They might have trained him in that castle of his to control his voice, but his body language gave him away.

"Yeah? By the way, you never told me how you planned to save my ice business," she gently took him by the elbow, turning his back to the kingdom, getting him to stop torturing himself over Arendelle's grim state.

"Oh. I have a plan. Don't you worry."

"And that is?" she pressed.

From his shirt pocket, he pulled out a teal glove and held it up to her face, like it was supposed to mean something to her.

"Oh, yes. You'll beat him with the glove until he unfreezes everything?" she said dryly. "I'll hold him down while you beat him. Sound like a plan?"

"Have a little faith, mountain woman." Andy tucked the glove back inside his pocket and patted it fondly, "He'll just put the gloves back on, and everything will return to normal. He'll thaw out the fjord."

"...wait, are you actually serious?"

"Yes! This happened when I took off his stupid glove, so the way _I _see it, putting them back on will fix everything."

She shook her head in disbelief and leaned against Suri, her arms folded. Suddenly Andy's cheery face turned into something darker, his face turned red, making his freckles stand out even more.

"Look, it's the best I got, okay? I don't want everyone back home to think I'm just the useless spare!" he spat. "Nobody believes in me!"

His outburst startled her."Andy, nobody thinks that-"

He waved her words away, his jaw set, "I'm not part of the town, nor was I born to be King. I'm just somebody hopelessly in-between. Just the baby brother, the screw up-"

"Stop, please-"

"The extra button on a jacket, in case the other one comes loose!" he was rambling now, his shoulders hunched and his hands gripping the book really tightly. How long had he been holding that one in? "Why can't I be a button that's of use?!"

She panicked. Dealing with people was _not _her strong point. She could barely comfort a reindeer that had accidentally licked a thorn bush, let alone another human being. Even a gloomy troll she could help feel better. Other people were a complete mystery to her.

The prince needed assurance that he wasn't completely crazy for going after the king, yeah? That he was useful, and not how he'd so eloquently put it, the _spare_. He'd been hurting, she realized, he'd been hiding behind that smile. She could relate.

Okay, maybe she hadn't been the _nicest _or most respectful person, but sarcasm was her only defense. _People will beat you and curse you and cheat you_. Maybe every one of them wasn't bad. So far Andy wasn't like them, at all. Maybe Andy was like a reindeer. She'd been harsh. And what did she know, maybe the gloves _would _stop the King's powers.

"Andy," she said, her voice firm. Andy looked at her, his green eyes wide and glassy. She bit her lip and placed both hands on his shoulders and tried to make her voice sound with as much conviction as possible. "Nobody thinks that you're useless. You're not a button. You're... _you_. The town loves you. And I'm sure Elliott does, too. So you'll never be the heir, who _cares_, you're so much _more _than just the spare."

This time when he stared, it was different from the other times. No contempt, or awe or curiosity- just at _her_. She felt the tip of her ears get warm and she dropped her arms, shifting her eyes away.

"You're willing to climb the tallest mountain just to find him," she mumbled, almost to herself. "Putting yourself at risk and- I'm not sure many people can say they'd do the same..."

Andy wiped at his eyes, walking ahead of her, hoping she wouldn't see. But she did.

"The button on a jacket metaphor is stupid," he said evenly. Then he looked over his shoulder at her, his familiar smile back in place. "Thank you. I- I needed that."

She felt her heart swell at that smile. It just looked so _right _on his face, almost like the permanent scowl did on hers. _Wait, what?_

"Let's try to find a way up that perilously high mountain now, yeah?" she smiled back, while Suri did a sort-of excited bark and ran ahead to where Andy was, the tension completely dissolved.

• • •

Some forests were really freaking scary, like the dark one where the crazy snowmen had attacked them. Others, though, were really beautiful. Frozen willow trees were one of them.

The low hanging branches glistened with tiny crystals of ice, reflecting off light and making the scene look like nothing Andy had seen before, taking his breath away. He never knew winter could be so beautiful.

Suri was the most excited. She ran back and forth, tangling her antlers in the braches and bringing the hanging things along with her. They tinkled like chimes, and the little sound pleased the reindeer so much she kept bouncing back and forth to show Krista every new decoration on her antlers.

"They are _so _beautiful," Krista said, holding one in her hand and letting it slip between her fingers. She'd actually taken off her gloves just to get a feel. "How can your brother go from bloodthirsty snowmen to something as gorgeous as this?"

"I'll give you and the frozen branches a moment, if you want," he said teasingly, holding one himself and letting it drop, making it chime. Then he swatted the one next to it, and it chimed also. Krista chuckled as Andy continued pulling at the branches in a funny melody, it would make a really nice music box—

"_STOP THAT SISSY, GOOD-FOR-NOTHING ACTIVITY_."

Both of them immediately jumped back from the tree and looked around, alarmed. All that he saw was Suri, with her head tilted to the side with her tongue hanging out. But the voice that had spoken had been a manly grunt. Vaguely familiar...

Andy raised an eyebrow at a stunned Krista, "Did your reindeer just—"

Krista screamed, her eyes fixed on something behind him.

Andy had never been the athlete out of the two brothers. But the roundhouse kick he delivered to the talking snowman's head would have put any of his self-defense instructor's to shame. It was more reflexive than intentional, because the little menace had snuck up on him, but it still sent the snowman's head flying. Left behind was the chest, the stubby legs and the feet. And, how could he forget, the arms gripping a wicked sharp sword— made of ice.

He had time to exchange a fleeting look with Krista before the head landed on her upturned palms.

"Ew, ew! You decapitated it!" she yelped, tossing it at him.

"I don't _want _it!" he shrieked, throwing it back at her.

"What makes you think _I _do?!" and their little game of throwing the head around continued. From the ground, the small body started walking around in circles, waving its beefy snow arms- sword and all.

"If you drop me _I will strangle you in your sleep_—!" it howled, and Andy screamed in a very unmanly way. He slammed the head back on the body with a soft crunch. He backed away, managing to trip over his feet in the process, so he was at eye-level with the snowman. He blinked. From that angle, the snowman looked even _more _familiar...

"Andy, what are you doing? Get up!" Krista hissed, pulling the Arendelle History book out of the satchel and raising it high above her head, sneaking towards the snowman, "This'll only take a second..."

"That was really impertinent of you, Soldier." the snowman grumbled, tilting its head from side to side so it settled properly. It suddenly whipped around to face Krista, the ice sword at level with her chest, "Drop that, young lady."

Krista narrowed her eyes, weighing her options. They weren't good. She put the book back in the satchel and raised her hands in surrender. The snowman motioned with the tip of the sword at the spot next to Andy, and she reluctantly sat down next to him. From behind the snowman, Suri watched on, wagging her tiny tail playfully.

"What great attack reindeer you got there," Andy mumbled. "I feel so safe."

"Shut up." Krista crossed her arms, scowling at their... captor.

"Now..." the snowman turned to them, the ice shards it had for eyes inspecting them closely. Andy noticed it had a handlebar moustache and a long, regal-looking nose. "I apologize for that impolite introduction, but heavens boy! It is not becoming of you to be playing with those things!"

"But they are _so_ pretty," Andy whined.

"Irrelevant. Let's start over." The snowman thrust the sword down, planting it on the ground. "I am General Winter! _Salute_!"

Andy didn't even think about it, his arm automatically went straight up and he saluted the snowman. He gasped, with his hand still raised, as everything clicked. It triggered a memory... of the ballroom. _Wait, what_? No... the brief flash of the ballroom dissolved as soon as it had appeared, instead showing one of Arendelle's gardens. Elliott there for a quick second. Laughing. Young. Then gone.

Krista nudged him with her shoulder, "Don't do as he says!"

Andy felt dizzy. The quick ballroom picture was now hazy, as if covered by fog. But the outdoor one was crystal clear. He blinked and lowered his arm. "That's right... General Winter," he repeated, his eyes lighting up, "Did Elliott build you?"

"Yes, m'boy," General Winter actually smiled. He bowed his head, "Soldier Anders. I've been looking for you."

Andy's face broke into a grin. The snowman he and Elliott built when they were kids! Before he shut him out! Only Elliott could have built him. Sure, he may have also created that crazy little gang- but the _General_? That was one of his few cherished memories from childhood, and Elliott had made it a real, talking being.

"_Why _are you suddenly best buds with one of _them_? Remember the woods?" Krista demanded. "_Conceal! Don't feel! Your land shall be cursed with unending winter_!"she made a squeaky, scarily accurate impersonation of those crazy menaces from earlier.

The General pulled out his sword from the ground, pointing it at Krista, "Aha! You're one of the Meltlings, aren't you?!"

She flinched, and Andy immediately batted the sharp sword away from her face, "Stop, General! It's not like that! We were attacked by this group of..."

"Deformed lumps of evil," Krista finished. Andy nodded vigorously as Krista continued, "They were yelling really random stuff and chasing us- we, uh, we barely made it."

"Meltlings," the General repeated, a deep hatred lacing the one word. "They are not to be contended with. They were created from dark, desolate thoughts." He spread his arms, gesturing at himself, "As for myself, I was created with love!"

Krista snorted but quickly tried to cover it up with her hands. Andy cracked a half-smile.

"What amuses you so, dear? I simply _ooze _love!" the General sheathed his sword at last. "Some of us are good, yes. We are hope and freedom and love! But the others..." the General narrowed its icy eyes, "The _Meltlings_... they are resentment, hate. They are _fear_! And I must destroy them!"

Andy was slightly taken aback, but Krista looked really upset for some reason. Suri finally decided to approach them, she sat down next to Andy and licked his cheek.

"Fear? So Elliott..." Krista muttered, probably to herself. Andy raised an eyebrow at her.

"Something you wish to share?" he asked her.

"D-did I say that out loud? It doesn't matter... General Winter?" she said, "There's two types of snowmen? Those like you and, um..."

"The _Meltlings_, yes," he said _Meltlings _like one would say _the black plague_. "Their two leaders are merciless and wicked, but no match for me of course!"

"Do you know where King Elliott is?"

"Certainly."

"Will you take us to him?"

"I could, yes. But why?"

"I'll tell you why," Andy said, "We need Elliott to bring back summer."

"Summer..." the General suddenly looked wistful, "I've always admired the idea of summer... that powerful thing, heat! The warm sun, all things hot... my snow getting gorgeously tanned..."

"A chance to relax, let off some steam! A nice summer breeze..." he sounded almost melancholic. He suddenly brightened up, "Put me in summer and I'll be a happy snowman! Yes, I shall help you bring it back!"

"I'm guessing you don't have much experience with heat?" Krista was trying hard not to laugh, and when the snowman shook his head, she smirked, "I'm gonna tell him-"

"Don't you dare," Andy smacked her arm lightly. Then to the snowman, "You wouldn't like it, General," he said, finally incorporating himself and pulling Krista up as well. "Trust me. You'd absolutely _hate _it."

"As much as I _despise _Meltlings? I seriously doubt it, Soldier Anders," The snowman said. "But, alas, I'm here to help you." He straightened up and pointed at Suri, "Lend me your steed."

_I'm here to help you_...

General Winter reminded Andy of parts of his brother he had long ago forgotten. The protective, loving brother he knew once. Did Elliott unintentionally put those parts of himself into the General?

But the 'Meltlings' part bothered him. What did the General say those were made of? Dark, loneliness, resentment, hate...fear. Had his brother accidentally put those parts of himself onto those snowmen too? Andy dreaded meeting them again, now that he had a closer idea of what they were, what they represented.

A new image flashed before his eyes. A younger version of himself, catching falling snowflakes with his tongue- Elliott beside him, stomping his foot on the hardwood floor- and then just as fast as it had happened, the images stopped, leaving him with a dull ache behind his eyes.

He blinked several times, trying to conjure up the moment again- but hard as he tried he could not. It was gone, snatched away. He concentrated until his eyes watered, but finally he sighed in defeat, going to where the General and Krista were. The moment he'd laid eyes on the General something had just... shifted. He wasn't sure what, but he hoped the weird images made sense later on.

"Let's bring back summer, children!" the General called, all saddled up on Suri's back, Krista looked unhappy about the arrangement.

"Don't look so glum, chum," Andy said playfully at Krista, pushing the troubling thoughts to the back of his mind.

"Why would I be glum, my Prince?" Krista opened her mouth to say something else, but bit her tongue. She shook her head and smiled instead.

"You held back a reply that would've most likely hurt my feelings," Andy noted with a smirk, "Thanks."

"I get nothing from... from being rude. Better to encourage you." She patted him on the shoulder, shuffling her feet awkwardly, "I... know what it's like to feel like no one believes in you."

"Aw, Krista-"

"Stop being so touchy-feely in my presence! I am the chaperone and I will not stand for this!" the General steered Suri to stand between them, "Enough!"

_Probably what Elliott would do_, Andy thought with a small smile.

* * *

**++++do you know how tempted i was to title this chapter "WINTER IS COMING"? _very_. but lets leave GoT references for another time**

**+++ i dont really like the song In summer but i did add some stuff from it, i think it fit in okay**

**++ so in the movie it bothered me that anna didn't remember those memories the trolls 'fixed', or that kristoff didnt tell her or elsa or just ugh. so andy here may eventually remember knowing about elliott's power when they were little i think it'd be cool**

**+alsoooo Helena chapter coming up next! she's proving to be really fun to write about, actually. too bad she's not all that she seems**

**please review!**


	11. Frozen Arendelle

A layer of solid ice coated everything. After the heavy buffeting of hail had stopped, people got out of their shelters and gathered around weak fires and scrambled around for provisions in case the bad weather prevailed. Now a light sleet fell from the sky. The tension was really thick on the villagers and guests, the fear was even greater. People fought over wood, cloaks- anything that provided even a minimal amount of warmth.

Helena loved every second of it.

Why? Because she was in charge- she'd _never _been in charge before. The people looked up to her, she was slowly but surely earning their trust and respect. She rushed around, handing people blankets and food. Comforting them when she must, offering her shoulder for them to cry on if she had to. It was completely different from things back home.

_Home_.

The sole mention of _that_ immediately darkened her thoughts. Where she wasn't appreciated. _Home _where everything she did was overshadowed by anything her older sisters did. No matter how hard she tried, how many things she accomplished, she was overlooked. The only thing she liked about the Southern Isles were the long summers and the short winters. And they weren't even that cold- nothing compared to the ridiculous coldness she felt from the King's curse.

She remembered when she was around 10 and won first place on a a horseback race on a really prestigious tournament against the son of some Lord- how, against all odds of her being a girl and the youngest, she'd left him in the dust. How proud she'd been, how she'd ran home holding the ribbon close to her chest- and when she'd stepped through the door? To a roomful of her worst nightmare- _all _her siblings, all in one place.

"_Congratulate Sonja_," the Queen, Astrid, her oldest sister and current ruler of the Isles had said. "_She is expecting a child_."

"_But_-"

Her sister's cold blue eyes flashed, "_I _said _congratulate your sister._"

"_Congrats, Sonja, I'm so happy for you_," she'd ground out.

"_What is this thing_?" Cristina, Sonja's twin, had wrinkled her nose and snatched the ribbon right out of her hands, "_You don't need this filth_!"

"_That's mine! Give it back_!"

All her pleas had been drowned out by the cruel laughter of 12 people. She never saw the ribbon again.

Helena grit her teeth, and shoved that incident the very back of her mind- to join the other thousand unpleasant memories. Here in Arendelle she did not have to feel that way anymore. It was a grand opportunity to shut that door and start fresh. And sweet, naive Andy was perfect. She didn't _love _him, but he was likable enough and maybe he'd grow on her, she wouldn't mind ruling by his side. Plus he was second in line, and seeing as no one was getting anywhere with his recluse brother, the little brother was a good catch. She'd just have to... deal with the current King. Which wouldn't be a problem, really. She'd spent enough time around her sisters to learn their scheming ways.

She put on a tight smile as she handed some woman a cloak and gave out some words of encouragement.

"Thank you, Your Highness." The woman said, wrapping the cloak around herself, "Arendelle is indebted to you."

She bowed her head, ridiculously pleased at those words, "There's hot glögg in the Great Hall if you're hungry."

When the woman was out of sight, Helena's smile disappeared. Something was still wrong.

The Prince had not come back yet.

She couldn't believe he'd actually gone after that monster. What foolishness to follow him! That awful brother of his that had adamantly refused to bless their marriage. And even worse,the crazy King had to go and freeze everything. And stubborn Andy had ran after him.

But it was fine, this minor setback just provided a brilliant opportunity for her to win over the people. As soon as Andy came back, she wanted them married. And if he actually came back with Elliott, all the better if he managed to bring back summer.

Which Helena doubted he could. Like she'd told the prince, the King had just reacted because he'd been pushed. The whole thing was an accident. He could not control his powers- which, by the way, were a _huge_ threat.

She briefly considered writing Astrid a letter to warn her. Then she almost laughed out loud at the thought. The only sisters of hers she would _maybe _havea slight interest in saving from the Ice King would be Johanna or Katherine. The rest could die from frostbite for all she cared. Maybe she'd keep Elliott around and get him to-

"There you are, Princess Helena!"

She groaned internally and turned with the fake, well-practiced smile she had mastered over the years.

"Duchess," She said curtly, as the elderly woman approached her, followed by two thugs the hysteric woman had hired for her 'protection.' The Duchess looked like she was planning an expedition to the North Pole- a heavy wool coat, a fur hat, gloves, a scarf and like 20 skirts. As for Helena she had settled for just a nice gray cloak that matched her long dress; and she'd put her long auburn hair in a high ponytail.

"I couldn't help but notice you giving away all of Arendelle's tradable goods to these... people." She pressed her lips into a thin line. "While the rest of us are slowly freezing to death!"

With an impressive amount of self-control to not throttle the woman, the Princess kept her strained smile in place, "Prince Andy left _me _in charge. His orders-"

"And that's another thing!" the Duchess cried, "Have you considered that, perhaps, your Prince may be conspiring with that evil sorcerer to destroy us all?"

Helena's patience vanished like a the light of a candle put out. She stood to her full height, almost a head taller than the Duchess, and looked down at the old woman with the cold look she'd learned from Queen Astrid. The two thugs behind the Duchess shifted nervously, unsure of what to do.

"Do _not _question the Prince!" she said, trying to copy her sister Rowena's venomous tone she often used on the youngest princess. "If you keep up those accusations, I won't hesitate to protect Arendelle from treason!"

"_Treason_? That's absurd!" the woman flared her nostrils, "I am a victim of fear!"

Helena opened her mouth to say something she'd probably regret, but the alarmed whinny of a horse stopped her. The sandy-colored horse of Prince Andy barreled into the square, bucking and kicking, without its rider.

The Duchess screamed and backed away, her two bodyguards pulling her back to a safe distance. Helena rushed to the horse, grabbing it by the reins, luckily not getting stomped in the process. If there was one thing she was good at, it was horses.

"Shh, boy. Calm down. Calm down! It's okay," she patted its muzzle and rubbed its neck reassuringly, "Easy, easy."

Once the horse was somewhat calm, she looked to where it had come from. The mountains, maybe. She felt her heart sink. If Andy had got killed, then it just ruined everything. She would never be Queen.

She didn't have to turn to see that all eyes were on her. This was her chance, then. To be a heroine. Either by bringing Andy back and marrying him, or bringing Elliott and getting him to stop the winter- oh, the people would _love_ that.

"Prince Andy might be in danger," she said loudly, "I'm going to look for him."

"W-what? Princess, that's demented!" the Duchess gave her unwanted opinion. Helena fought back a scowl. She sounded like Cristina. "We need you here."

If King Elliott didn't thaw the ice, she would be stuck in this stinking kingdom, no ship would be able to leave. The possibility of being forced to ask one of her siblings for help revolted her so much she'd rather swim all the way back home. That was motivation enough, she would_ not_ fail if the Arendelle boys were out there.

She waved away the Duchess' concerns, "I will need some volunteers to help me find him."

She was surprised at the amount of people that raised their hands, both from Arendelle and foreigners. Were they doing it for Andy, or for _her_? She hoped it was the latter.

"I volunteer two of my men, Princess!" The Duchess gently pushed her two thugs forward, heavily mustachioed men that sneered at her.

"I thought they were for _your _protection?" Helena said coolly, really _not _wanting those two to come along.

"Don't worry about me, sweet Princess. I'd rather they protect _you_!"

"That's really kind, My Lady." She murmured. The old woman winked. Helena watched as the Duchess grabbed both men by their collars and pulled them down to her level, whispering things to them. She did not like their plotting one bit.

She gripped the reins of the horse tightly, all she could do to stop herself from physically hurting that meddling old woman.

_I'll deal with her later_, Helena turned away, facing the mountains, _all in due time_.

• • •

"Krista _what _are you looking for? We're almost there! The North Mountain is just-"

"Will you be quiet? I need to concentrate."

Andy made an impatient sound in the back of his throat, his arms folded as Krista walked about, occasionally getting down on her knees to dig through the snow, only to eventually stop and shake her head.

"Soldier Anders is right, m'girl. Elliott is close," General Winter agreed, perched on Suri's back and twirling his mustache- or as close as that got, since he was made of snow and all. "And we have not run into any Meltlings, which is fantastic, but luck can only last so long."

Andy exaggeratedly lifted a boulder and pretended to look, making a big show of how there was nothing underneath. "Are you looking for your common sense?"

"Nah. I left _that_ back at the barn when I agreed to-" she stopped mid-sentence. _Be nice_. Instead she rolled her eyes and changed tactics, "Read your silly book meanwhile, how about that?"

"I would, but curiosity is killing me. See, you could be looking for, like, an ice pick you left behind or you could be looking for the dead body you buried days ago. I just have no way of knowing."

She laughed good-naturedly, enjoying the joking environment. "Allow me to put your mind at ease, my Lord. I'm looking for food."

"_What_-"

"Sometimes ice harvesters, or rangers, get lost in the mountains," she explained before the prince could express his confusion. "So we do this thing where we bury emergency supplies for the lost ones to find," she approached a tree and kicked it once, twice, and then kneeled at the base. She started to dig, "...but sometimes we forget where we bury our stuff." Krista growled in frustration when she found nothing, and moved on to the next tree.

"Like Squirrels!" Andy said. "When they, like, stuff their cheeks with nuts and then bury them so they have food in the winter!"

"Oh?" General Winter seemed genuinely interested in Andy's vast knowledge of squirrels.

"The squirrels forget where they bury their nuts, and that's how a lot of trees are unintentionally planted," Andy said.

"Fascinating. Please tell us more." Krista said, ducking her head inside the hollow of a tree, still searching. She found the dorky side of the Prince both cute and annoying, and she did not know how that could be.

"Huh, actually, you know who told me all those interesting things?"

"A scary squirrel-obsessed person I never want to meet?"

"Elliott did!" _before he shut me out_, he added mentally. Maybe that's why General Winter showed interest, because he was a sort of extension of his brother. Back in the day little Elliott went around telling Andy random, seemingly useless facts, that nerdy side had been a part of Elliott Andy now desperately missed. Elliott had always been the scholar out of the two.

"_Why would Elliott_- no, no, don't answer that. I don't want to know- _hey_, look!" with a huge grin, she pulled out a small wooden case from the what felt like the umpteenth tree she'd checked in the last hour. She brushed off the snow, "Hopefully something inside is still good."

Andy hurried to her side, looking over her shoulder. "What?"

"It could've been placed here a couple days ago, or 100 years... aha! We're in luck. It's just a week old. You hungry?" she tapped the recent date carved to the side.

"Yes!" Andy said. She unlatched the lid. Some thread, scissors, matches, a water canteen, apricots, raisins, _nuts_, dried meat, even _chocolate_. That was a rare treat, for an emergency kit anyway.

"It probably belonged to a person of high-rank," Krista said, noticing the sweet deliciousness at the same time he did. "Chocolate... I've only had it, like, once."

"_What_?" Andy cried. That was an outrage. He picked the chocolate from the box and practically shoved it in her mouth, "_Eat_."

She made an indignant noise, but chewed the candy nonetheless. A merchant from across the ocean had gifted her chocolate a long time ago, and she remembered it tasting bitter. _Nothing _ like the sweet thing that practically melted in her mouth.

"You like?" Andy said, almost bouncing in his spot, studying her face carefully for her reaction.

"_Gods_," she swallowed, "I - I mean, it's... _gods_. It's so sweet! It has sugar!"

"Good, yeah?" he said, picking a raisin and popping it in his mouth, deciding to let Krista have the rest of the chocolate after the adorable face of delight and amazement she'd got after that one bite. Suddenly remembering, he turned to the General, who had been watching the exchange with bemusement. He held up the apricots, "You want some, General?"

"I don't have internal organs, m'boy, but I appreciate the gesture," the snowman chuckled. Suddenly, the icy eyes narrowed, "_MELTLINGS_!"

The 4 of them swiveled around, and indeed, about 15 of those lumpy monsters were emerging from the forest, cackling and jeering. Krista shut the case with a snap and shoved it inside the satchel.

"We run, we fight, we...?" Andy said, backing away from the snow menaces that were slowly dragging themselves towards them, he pulled Krista along with him.

"Elliott is just up there," the General hissed, pointing up, and Andy followed his finger with his eyes which led to the snowcapped North Mountain. They _were _really close.

"We can outrun them...probably." Krista said.

"Yes! We totally-" Andy almost screamed as one last figure emerged from the trees.

It was definitely in the top 5 most horrifying things he had ever seen in his short 18 years of life.

The Duchess of Sandlane- in all her horrendous glory- made of _ice_. Unlike General Winter, she was less snowman and more ice-sculpture, with details such as jagged teeth and her hooked nose was at least twice the size of the original. He would've found it funny had it not been so terrifying. And then her-her _feet_.

They were thick and broad, perfect to travel through snow or be appealing to a Giant, Andy couldn't decide. Her claw-like hands clenched and unclenched at her sides. She advanced towards them, slower than any of the other snowmen, she was teetering from side to side as if she were carrying a heavy weight.

"_Stop the monster_." the Snow Duchess croaked, barely raising her voice.

And the worst part, the very worst part...

_Elliott had created_ _her_.

* * *

**++ i figured i could turn olaf's joke of "i dont have a skull...or bones" to _internal organs _because why not.**

**+ i'm in a sort of writer's block, but i'lll try to get the next chapter soon, it's probably going to be the longest so far.**

**thank you for reading :)! please review.**


	12. North Mountain

Andy's mouth was agape, it seemed that _that_ was all he could do. He couldn't believe it, he didn't _want _to. He felt paralyzed as the Ice Duchess stared them down.

"Another snowman from your childhood?" Krista whispered nervously, the creepy ice lady having their undivided attention. "Was she your psychotic nanny?"

Lucky for them, General Winter had his priorities straight and swooped right in front of them, riding the reindeer like it was actually a steed.

"Go to Elliott!" he ordered in a booming voice, like a real general. "I'll hold them back!"

"General-" Krista started to protest, but then Andy winced at her side, pressing his fingers against his temple. "Andy? Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Andy attempted to reply, but all he managed was another wince, this time more pain crossed his face. "A-A vision of..." he whimpered.

"Andy?" she said softly, shaking his shoulder.

"_The Duchess_," Andy said in a strained voice, pointing at the ice woman. Then he shut his eyes tightly and muttered, "_Elliott showed me his magic when we were little_—"

But he was cut off by the Duchess, who just stood there, surrounded by her small gang.

"_Monster_!" the Snow Duchess wailed, and instead of continuing to clench her hands at her sides she started to claw at her own face; leaving long, ugly scratch marks across her ice cheeks. The little snow minions at her side chattered loudly and occasionally taunted them, but didn't advance any further.

_'Their two leaders are merciless and wicked'_, Krista remembered the General saying. She assumed this Duchess was one of those leaders. Krista felt a pang of dread. Where was the other one?

The... _Meltlings _were awaiting orders from the Snow Duchess, she realized. Andy's episode seemed to have ended, and he was blinking hard, disbelief all over his face. Krista wondered exactly what he'd seen... _Elliott showed me his magic when we were little . _Was he remembering the memories Grand Pabbie had altered by himself? Was that possible?

"Stop hesitating, damn it all! _Go!_" the General pulled out his sword, "_En garde_!"

The Snow Duchess screeched then, a high-pitched sound that made Krista's ears pop, and snow to fall from the branches of nearby trees. The Meltlings apparently spoke whatever language _that_ was, because they screeched back at her and started to drag themselves towards them, their legs not entirely functional so they had to claw at the snowy ground with their twig arms.

"General, please don't—" Andy started, but the General held a hand up, silencing him.

"Enough. I _will _protect you," the steel in his words made it clear it was not up for debate.

The General jumped off from Suri and waved the reindeer away, telling her without words to go with Andy and Krista. He charged at the Meltlings. Krista did not want to leave him so outnumbered, and she was about to say so, but the snowman surprised her.

He struck like a viper.

He decapitated the first one in one quick blow, he hadn't even finished bringing his arm back and he was already elbowing another one's face. He then stomped on the remains, so they didn't assemble themselves back together.

"_LEAVE_!" the General yelled, stabbing a third one, "I'll be fine! I'll catch up as soon as I kill—all—the—_Meltlings!"_ He punctuated every word by driving his sword into different sneering faces. He sliced through them like they were butter.

The Snow Duchess continued to scream, clawing at her own face. Krista dreaded she was calling the _other leader _the General had mentioned.

Krista glanced at Andy, silently asking.

Andy had his lips pressed together in a thin line— the reluctance clear on his face. But he nodded in the end, "We'll come back for you, General," his voice cracked.

"I don't need you coming back for me, m'boy, I'll go _to you_," the General laughed in delight as he smashed the butt of his sword against a cursing Meltling, "_I'm free_!"

"Andy," she said gently, hoisting herself up onto Suri's back. "Come on."

They rode away, Andy never taking his eyes off the brave little snowman.

• • •

"Suri, stop bouncing so much, I'm trying to read this—"

Andy had tried to distract himself by reading the History book, which was a bad idea with all the movement from riding up the mountain at top speed. They'd known the General for less than two hours and already his absence was noted. Andy had grown ridiculously attached to the snowman in a really short period of time.

Suri made a wheezing sound that might've been an apology or a scoff at the prince, either way, the words on the page were so jumbled together he couldn't read anything. He snapped the book shut and sighed. What he _did_ manage to read was the beginning of some story about Arendelle's first ruler, Queen Adela (Adela— _Arendelle_, yeah?) who also happened to be the founder. It said some things about her being a loner and dangerous, but Andy didn't get to read much thanks to the bouncing of his ride.

Andy scooted closer to Krista's back, putting the book away. She'd insisted he had to grab her waist or else he'd fall off "and get trampled". Not that he was complaining, he didn't mind it one bit.

"Well, excuse her for trying to get us to see your brother as fast as possible," Krista immediately rose up to her reindeer's defense, "You should've done that when I was looking for the emergency kit."

"I know. I'm sorry, I just— I can't stop thinking about—" he swallowed hard, trying not to think about the General. How the little snowman technically was an extension of Elliott. He remembered the determination across the snowman's face when he'd said '_I _will_ protect you_.'

"What did you see in your... in your vision?" Krista changed the subject. Like him, she had not wanted to leave the snowman behind.

"It—It was weird. It's, like, the third time it has happened. I keep seeing things. And I _feel _like I've lived those things, yeah? I just can't _place_ them..." he leaned his head against her shoulder, a feeling of despair suddenly settling on his chest. He could feel her breath hitching, but she didn't shove him away. "First it was the ballroom, and Elliott was there... and we were little. And snowflakes were falling _indoors_, and then when those Meltlings appeared..."

"What did you see?" she cocked her head to the side, trying to look at him.

"Elliott was trying to, like... teach me to use his powers."

He closed his eyes and the image came a lot easier than the others, because he kept replaying it in his mind, refusing to let it go.

_They were in Andy's bedroom, well, their old bedroom, back when they shared it. With the two beds, one green and the other blue._

_"No, lift your hand higher... higher... there, that's it," the younger version of his brother had said. Then he frowned in confusion, "Can't you feel it?"_

_"Nope," Andy said, equally confused. He must have been around 4, maybe. He was standing on his tiptoes, his little arm lifted high above his head. No streak of white on his hair._

_"Like this," Elliott said, less patiently. He flicked his hand and a small flurry of snow shot out, flying past Andy and splashing against their bedroom door, creating what resembled a snowflake._

_Andy dropped his awkward position and squealed happily. "Do the magic again!"_

_"No, you do it," Elliott said, "Go on, like I showed you. You arm has to go like-"_

_"Maybe I don't have magic," Andy had said quietly."It's never worked for me..."_

_"What? But... but we're brothers," Elliott said._

_Andy shrugged and clasped his small hands together, "It's okay. I don't want a brother more like me. Your magic is pretty."_

_"Mama and Papa don't have it either," Elliott looked upset for some reason Andy did not understand. His brother had the coolest magic in the world! Why wasn't he happy?_

_"Who cares? Elliott, you're amazing!" Andy had insisted, and decided to inform his brother of his thoughts, "You have the coolest magic in the world!"_

_Elliott beamed at him so brightly Andy could not help but smile right back._

Krista was quiet for so long, Andy wondered if she'd heard him at all. Finally, she sighed deeply. "Andy... so...you... you didn't know about Elliott's magic." Her voice was strained, a nervous touch to it.

He couldn't tell if she was asking; she'd said it so _quietly_, but he decided to pretend she had, "Not until I took off his glove, I didn't. He never told me. But... but these pictures in my head, they're telling me otherwise..."

Again, the silence stretched for a little too long. Up to the point till it got _suspicious_. Andy frowned and leaned away from resting his head against her back, glaring at the back of her blonde head, "There's something you're not telling me."

Her silence was all he needed to hear—or well, not _hear_—whatever! "_What _are you not telling me, Krista? Is there something I need to know?"

"Andy, it's... it's complicated, I can't—"

"Back at Olga's T.T! You took one look at me and—and" he sputtered, "_Stop this reindeer_!"

Krista pulled at the reins and they stopped abruptly. Apparently it was good timing, they'd arrived anyway. Before them was the steep side of a mountain that went straight up, like a dead end. They were going to have to climb.

But that could wait. Right then, he wanted answers. He jumped off the reindeer and Krista followed him meekly. Now that he could finally get a look at her face he _knew_— she definitely _was _hiding something.

"You knew Elliott was responsible for the weather without me telling you," Andy said, trying to keep his voice from becoming shrill. He was tired, so _so _tired of people keeping things from him. "How do you— I didn't— _just tell me_."

"I wish I could, but... please, Andy, it's not my place to tell," she finally said. Her hazelnut eyes were wide, pleading, "Elliott has... he's got to tell you himself."

"_Tell me what!_"

"Andy, it doesn't _matter _right now. Calm down! The snow is getting deeper and deeper, and if Elliott doesn't stop it, everyone will freeze to death!"

"It matters to _me_," Andy said hotly, hating the fact that Krista was right.

"Okay, okay, how about a compromise? You go talk to Elliott, give him his glove so he can bring back summer. We get a nice ice box so General Winter doesn't die, and _then_ I'll tell you whatever you wanna know, yeah?" Krista coaxed.

Andy folded his arms and pouted. He was cold, annoyed, and just _done _with secrets. But, like previously stated, Krista _had _a very good point. And did it really matter right then? She'd helped him all this way, she was a really nice girl, and he actually trusted her.

"_Fine_. The answers better be _good _though," he grumbled.

"Oh, they'll be worth your while alright," she started to dig through the satchel, her shoulders relaxing after Andy's agreement.

Krista pulled out a rope and an ice axe, "This is going to be a little difficult. It's really steep, and you don't know how to climb mountains."

Andy scoffed, "Says who?"

"Just a hunch," she smirked, tucking a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. She looked a lot less apprehensive, and he felt a lot calmer too, her promise to _explain _things was something he was really looking forward to.

"You're gonna have to stay here, girl," she told Suri, rubbing the back of the reindeer's ears, "Wait for us. And if you see the General—"

Suri tilted her head in confusion.

"—Um, the overly passionate man made of snow?" Suri clucked her tongue and nodded in understanding. Andy smiled. That reindeer was smarter than some Lords and Ladies he'd come across. "Yeah him. Just reassure him that we're not dead, not killed by Meltlings or anything. Yeah?"

"You know he's gonna try and climb that mountain himself," Andy said. "He's literally an unstoppable force. I love him."

"I know. I hope he's okay."

"I bet he's beheaded the Snow Duchess by now. Brining us the spoils of battle by now, I bet he is."

"...Yeah, speaking of, why did Elliott create _her_?"

"Ugh, it's just this obnoxious lady from Sandlane. I danced with her it was— well, my feet will never be the same. And I don't know why he created her," Andy shifted nervously, "I sure hope he didn't model any others after real people."

He wondered, was there an Ice Andy running around somewhere?

"Yeah, let's hope not," After leaving some food behind with Suri, Krista stretched the rope and pulled it taut, testing it, "Let's climb this thing."

• • •

They only came close to dying six or seven times, which Krista thought was pretty good, considering their serious lack in equipment and the fact that the Prince didn't climb mountains. Once, she lost her grip and found herself dangling by one hand from a ledge fifty feet above the frosty ground. But she found another handhold and kept climbing, careful to not let the Prince know so he wouldn't worry.

A minute later Andy hit a slippery rock and his foot slipped.

Fortunately, he found something else to put it against. Unfortunately, that something was her face.  
"Sorry," he murmured.  
"S'okay," She grunted, "Though I'd never really wanted to know what the bottom of your boot tasted like."

She'd been _so _close to telling him. Just— the truth. About Andy's memories, the trolls, Elliott—_everything_. But then she got cold feet (_ha_) and decided she'd prefer to have the King's support in the explanation. It was only right he be there.

Finally, when her fingers felt like molten lead and she was sure the exhausted Prince would topple on top of her, they reached the end of the cliff and hauled themselves over the top.

"I'm dead. This is how I die. Krista, bring the priest," Andy lay on his back, breathing so hard he might've been hyperventilating. Krista's laugh was hoarse, she was extremely tired too; she lay down next to the Prince like when they'd jumped that massive gorge hours ago.

"You sound like a mare giving birth, boy, _get up_!"

"_General_!" they said in unison, sitting up. "Did you stop the Duchess?" Andy asked anxiously.

"She has been... _contained_, for now." the General said carefully, comfortably sat on Suri's back, he approached them with a smug look. His hat was crooked, and if a snowman could look disheveled, this one did, but he looked relatively unharmed.

"It's not time for a nap!" the snowman said. "Elliott is right over there. So get up."

"But—but _how_?" Andy sputtered, gesturing at the ridiculously high cliff they'd just climbed. "Did you teleport?"

"Why didn't you just take the staircase?" the General said, cocking his head in confusion.

"Staircase? What stair— _Oh_," Krista covered her eyes with her hands, plopping back down to the snow, "...that sketchy structure to the side was a— _ugh_!"

"It's okay! It doesn't matter. We made it. I needed the exercise, anyway," He touched her arm lightly and turned his head to where the General had said Elliott was. He gasped. "Oh my—"

"What is it...?" Krista said sullenly, still mad that she hadn't considered that the path she'd seen before was actually a staircase. It would have made things _so _much easier—

She followed Andy's gaze and gasped as well.

Andy was right. They had died and they were in _heaven_.

• • •

Once second, Krista had been sulking right next to him.

The next, she was sprinting towards the most elegant and beautiful ice castle Andy had ever seen— not that he'd _seen _any others to compare it, but it was just _wow_. Elliott had built an ice castle on the side of the mountain, tall like the structure of a gothic one, it reminded him of those French architecture books in the library—oh, _duh_. Where else would Elliott have got the inspiration?

"Whoa," he said in awe, slowly joining Krista who looked like she was having the time of her life, she babbled on about detail and proportions and how it was _the most perfect thing ever in the history of ever_.

A grand staircase led to the arched ice door. _The entrance_.

"Oh my gods, oh my gods..." Krista ran a hand along the perfect rail of the stairs, "Now this... _this is ice_. I might cry."

Suri bounded to her side, licking the ice and getting her tongue stuck. Krista pulled her face away. "Wait for us here, yeah?"

Andy was already halfway up the stairs, with General Winter walking beside him. He glanced over the edge. It was a really long drop, if the stairs gave away...

_They won't. Elliott made them_, Andy reassured himself. They made it to the door, and Andy stopped, unsure of what to do. Knock? Kick it down? Behind him, Krista gasped again.

"Flawless," she said, a hand over her mouth. Andy smirked at her, raising an eyebrow. "What? Will nobody talk about this? _It's a palace made of ice_."

He laughed, "You're so cute."

They both froze.

"Wait, what? No, I meant— like— your reaction. Your reaction is cute, not you." he amended quickly.

"Um, _thanks_?" Krista said, looking pleased and a little insulted at the same time.

"That came our wrong— you're cute too! But—"

"M'boy," the General said, "Please stop talking."

"You are _right_, you are right my General! Enough talking, let's open this door," he swallowed his embarrassment and turned to face the door, but he stopped short. He hesitated, one hand raised.

For the first time since this whole journey had started, he wondered. What if Elliott didn't _want _to see him? What if this was just another door in his face? Like it had been for, what, 13 years now?

"Well, go on! Knock!" the General urged, tugging Andy's cloak. Krista stood next to him, clearing her throat with the her cheeks still colored.

"Why isn't he knocking?" the snowman said to Krista, but he said it loud enough for the whole mountain to hear. "Does he know how? Should I kick the door down? I think I shall—"

But before the General could lift his stubby little feet, Andy swallowed his fear. Screw it. _Just do it_.

He knocked quickly, three times, his signature knock. For a split second nothing happened, and his heart sank.

But then the mighty ice door swung open.

For the first time _ever_, Elliott's door had opened to his knocking.

"Okay, great! It opened. _That's a first!"_

Krista made as if to step forward, but Andy stopped her by the shoulder.

"You should probably wait out here," he said, as gently as he could.

"What? _Why?_ You can't do this to me! Ice is my life! And this is a _palace made of it_," she whined, gesturing at the beautiful foyer area they could see thanks to the open door.

"Last time I introduced him to a girl, he froze everything, remember? Let's try to have that not happen again, yeah?" Andy said. Krista pouted, and Andy almost blurted out again, _that's so cute_. But he managed some self—control.

"Yes, m'girl, wait here while the grownups bring back summer," the General also made as if to step forward, but Andy grabbed him.

"You too, General. Just a minute. I need to—I need to talk to him."

The General visibly bristled, but he sat down in the ice steps, muttering things about petty Soldiers doing as they pleased. Krista sat down next to him, looking dejected.

Andy cast them one last look , taking a deep breath.

He stepped inside.

* * *

**+++ ok i had to completely rewrite this chapter cos things took a turn i had not expected- still came out good, though, not as long as i had originally planned. and all things considered i think this one is better than the first draft**

**++ who's missed the ice king? up next, we'll see what elliott's been up to. things will go down alright**

**+ last chapter got a really amazing amount of reviews, so i posted this early as thanks! reviews make my day :)**

**thank u for reading :)!**


	13. Ice Palace

Elliott paced back in forth, unsure of what to do next. He'd never been so _free _before, but he found he didn't exactly know what to do with all this new time. There were only so many things one could do alone in an ice palace, after all. He'd made beds for sleeping, a whole orchestra of instruments he told himself he was going to learn eventually, a grand ballroom, he even made a rose garden, all out of ice, of course. Everything was so beautiful and intricate, Elliott smiled at his handiwork proudly.

Unfortunately the snowmen he'd built earlier had melted, which was a pity, he had thought about using them as decoration. But it didn't matter, he could always build more.

He was having fun at last, and he didn't have to worry about hurting anyone. He could be himself, for the first time in years.

But Elliott couldn't help that lurking feeling of loneliness within him. He knew it was all for the best, that this was the right thing to do, but everything was so unnaturally quiet and still. Yes, he was used to being alone in his room, but there could always be solace found in hearing Andy's laughter as he ran through the halls, or even just the soft chatter and footsteps of the palace staff.

But there was only silence.

He kept telling himself he had to forget about Andy, about everything in his past life. That wasn't the Elliott he wanted to be; the Elliott who had constantly lived in fear, always hiding in the shadows, trapped. The new Elliott was bold, exciting, powerful, and most of all, _alone._The Elliott that had built the most amazing palace _ever _out of scratch; with a little foreign inspiration of course but _his _nonetheless.  
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he heard a loud knocking on the palace's front door.

Three knocks in quick succession, there was only _one _person in the world who knocked like that. Over the years his door had been met by different kinds of knocks, he'd memorized them all. The single knock with an open palm from his father, two slow ones from his mother, Kai was about 5 really fast ones...

Elliott froze, his heart suddenly leaping to his throat.

_No, he wouldn't be that reckless... to follow me here...no..._ _traverse all the snow and mountains just to..._

He rushed over to the front hall, his mind racing. Taking a deep breath, he readied himself, and shot a blast of icy magic at the door, causing it to open.

"Okay, great! It opened. _That's a first!"_

Elliott's eyes widened as he recognized the all-too familiar sound of her brother's voice; his sweet, naïve, little brother. Part of him wished he had been wrong. He hid behind the corner, for reasons he didn't really know_. _He'd expected it, after the signature knock, but Andy... had come all this way just to see _him_.

"Elliott? It's me…Andy?"

Elliott felt torn, between feeling relieved that Andy was _right there_ and _I can't be free_. He considered not answering, make him think no one was home... but shutting Andy out again? _No_. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out, his new ice clothes shimmering in the cool light.

Andy was near the foot of the grand staircase Elliott had built, and he gasped slightly as Elliott emerged, completely in awe. His eyes were wide, and he was stammering slightly. "Elliott, what the…" he said, smiling at him. "You look... wow. Is that ice? Krista would..." he shook his head, clearing it of the distraction, "This place is amazing!"

Elliott smiled, feeling uncomfortable but flattered at the same time. Half of him wanted nothing more than to run down to Andy and wrap him in a big bear hug, for the first in 13 years, to tell him how thankful he was for just having another chance to see him, but he knew he couldn't. What would stop him from accidentally freezing him, or something even worse? He couldn't let himself get too emotional. He reminded himself of why he'd left in the first place, left that cage.

"Thank you," he said politely, glancing around his new home. "I never knew what I was capable of."

Andy started to climb the stairs, still talking away. "I'm so sorry about what happened," he said, his voice full of sincerity. "Things will be different. I—"

Elliott backed up, not liking the lack of space between them. He could feel his emotions getting out of control again, slowly but surely, and it felt like his hands had their own heartbeat. He'd been fine during those hours alone, but now that _Andy _was here, he didn't know how to handle it. He did _not _need another event like the one from coronation ceremony to happen.

"You don't have to apologize, Anders," he heard himself telling Andy, still moving away. Why was Andy even saying he was sorry? What did _he_ have to feel sorry about? Everything was all Elliott's fault, just like it always was. "But... you should go. Please."

Andy's brow furrowed, and he looked slightly shocked. "But I just got here!"

_Exactly. He needed to leave before things got even worse._ "You belong in Arendelle," Elliott reminded him. _Unlike me._

Andy smiled at him. "So do you!"

Elliott almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of the statement. Why couldn't Andy understand? He just wanted Andy to _go _and leave him be, even if having him here was secretly comforting.

He looked down at his little brother, "I belong here," he muttered, more to himself than to Andy. "Alone. Where I can be who I am without hurting anybody."

Andy smiled awkwardly, shifting in his place. "Um, Elliott, I get the feeling you don't know—"

Elliott was about to open his mouth to question Andy but paused, suddenly hearing _another _voice bellowing in frustration outside. "Who's out there—?"

"Enough waiting!" There was a rush of cold air as the doors once again swung open, and a small snowman came bumbling in, scowling. "You don't tell me what to do!" He ran up to Andy and kicked his shins.

Elliott frowned. Why would Andy bring a small child dressed as General Winter? He eyed the snowman critically, trying to figure out _how _the snow in the costume looked so realistic.

The snowman looked up at him then, icy shards moving by their own account. "You built me, boy. Do you remember that?"

Elliott's eyes widened. This was the exact same one he'd built outside. But hadn't they all melted? "General Winter...And you're alive?"

The snowman paused, exchanging a look with Andy and then back at Elliott, "How do you young people say? Well, _duh_! Alive and kicking!" he made a few karate chops at the air and Andy laughed. Then General smiled up at Elliott, a deep fondness in that usually stony face.

Elliott looked down at his hands, completely shocked. He knew she could create incredible things, but this was something else. He flushed. If he could create something so wonderful and pure, maybe his powers weren't so bad after all. But then he remembered, with a pang of dread, all the _other _things he'd created. He wanted to strangle himself. _Had Andy met up with the Ice Helena? The Duchess? _If everything he created came to life... This was bad. Very bad.

"He's just like the one we built as kids," Andy smiled, leaning down to place a hand on the snowman, who immediately batted the affectionate gesture away. "General, I _told _you to wait outside. Please." The snowman did _not _look happy, but he complied.

He wasn't _yelling _ at Elliott, so hopefully he'd only met with the General and not a certain icy fiancée with devil horns...

"Yeah, he is..." Elliott smiled back, hiding the terror that was slowly building up inside him as he remembered all the _other_ little snowmen he'd created. Had _those _come to life too?

Andy had to get out of here so Elliott could hunt down all of those living snowmen and destroy them, before Andy found them or worse. Before they reached Arendelle.

Andy looked back towards Elliott, a desperate pleading in her eyes. "We can be close again, Elliott! Come with me to Arendelle."

For a split second, Elliott wanted to believe it. Maybe Andy was right. Maybe they _could_ just go back to Arendelle together, and figure things out. Maybe they could be friends again, and open the gates, and go to town, and do normal _brotherly _things. Maybe they could stay up late, and have adventures, and sword fight and build snowmen. Elliott might even give Princess Helena a second chance.

And then it hit him with full realization. He flashed back to that horrible, awful moment, the one that haunted him every waking second of his life. He could remember it as if it had happened yesterday: Elliott blasting Andy with his magic, Andy falling to the floor with a pained yelp, the sound of Elliott's own terrified shrieks echoing off the walls, the _looks_ of horror on his parents' faces. The moment he became a monster.

It was all wistful thinking, dumb little fantasies_. _They could never happen. Not with Elliott, at least. He hardened his heart against anything Andy would say.

"No we can't," he said sternly, turning away. He _had to let go of Andy__, __of Arendelle, of everything in his past life._

"Goodbye Anders." He turned on his heel, and started to walk away, back into isolation, and away from any chance of hope he had left.

"_Oh_, now I'm _Anders_?" Andy said, the first hint of anger in his voice.

_Please, no, not the coronation again, please no_...

"I came all this way. I got attacked by your stupid Meltlings and almost plummeted to my death _twice_, all for you to _goodbye Anders_ me?" He was following him up the staircase. _No no no_.

"_Meltlings_?" Elliott paused, not sure if he'd heard correctly.

Andy's laugh was bitter, "About two feet tall? Sharp spikes for teeth and they look like an elephant sat on them? Sound familiar, darling brother?"

Elliott felt his heart sink, "So the deformed ones—"

Elliott was suddenly spun around by his shoulders, Andy had reached him faster than he'd anticipated, and he was forced to meet his furious green gaze.

"_Yes_, Elliott, those came to life too! Surprise!" His tone was just nasty, and he must've seen the agonized look on Elliott's face, because he grimaced, "Sorry. I— Sorry. I'm just..." he took a deep breath, "A lot has happened... but we can figure this out _together_. Let me help you."

"Andy, please go back home. _Please_." Elliott tried a different tactic, "Go enjoy the sun, open up the gates! I won't stop you anymore. You can—" he swallowed thickly, "You can marry Helena. Your life awaits."

Andy stared at him for a beat, two. Then he asked quietly, "You don't know what happened, do you?"

"Yes— Meltlings. They— they were a mistake. I was alone and I... I felt _free _and they just happened, but... I promise, I will find them and get rid of them," Elliott backed away from his brother. "So go back home."

Every time Elliott took a step back, Andy just took a step forward, "But you'll come back with me?"

Elliott scoffed, losing patience fast, "Back?"

"To thaw out the fjord, Elliott! It's frozen over!" his brother _finally _yelled. Elliott could tell Andy was fighting down all the anger he felt towards him. All the bottled up things in his heart, they were threatening to burst out of the Prince; and soon. "No one can get in or out. You set off an eternal winter _everywhere_."

"_Everywhere_?!" The cherry to the cake of failure that was his life, then. Not only had he hurt his brother, he'd hurt everyone else in the kingdom, too. What a fine King he turned out to be, his first act as so had been to freeze the summer. He could feel the panic bubbling and churning in his gut, threatening to consume him. A small flurry danced across his fingers and he had to clench his hand into a fist to stop it. He had to control it.

"But you can just unfreeze it, so that's one problem out," Andy said, managing a small smile.

"N—No I can't! I don't know _how_." Elliott glared down at his hands, those hands that always had to go and ruin _everything_.

"Yes you can, I _know _you can," Andy set down a satchel next to his feet and pulled out a teal glove. _His _glove, Elliott realized. A thing he wanted nowhere near his hands ever again. "Here."

"So I'll shove on the gloves? _That_'s how your story ends?" Elliott's voice came out almost like a growl.

Andy ignored his tone, "Don't knock it till you try it. Maybe this will stop the winter, and we can go back to Arendelle, it'll be just like it was! Except for we'll be best friends, obviously," Andy tried to joke, but Elliott's face was a mask.

"So that's how you plan to force me back in a cage." Out of the corner of his eye he saw small icicles start to jut from the walls. He clenched his teeth. He had to get Andy out of here.

"What? Nobody said anything about a cage, Elliott! I just want you back!" Andy grabbed Elliott's wrist a little too forcefully and placed the glove in his hand, "I don't get why you're so upset. It's just a glove."

Elliott stared at it like it was the most disgusting thing he'd ever seen. But he decided to humor is brother. He pulled it on, and tried not to recoil as the familiar material slid against his skin. He flexed his fingers.

Andy frowned. "Where's the other one?"

"Gone," he replied dryly, "You're not going to find it. Hmm, I wonder. Did the winter stop?" Elliott made his way to the second floor, to the balcony. Andy was right by his heels. The outside was as snowy, cold, and white as ever. "Oh, look. It didn't." Satisfied, he pulled off the glove and threw it over the balcony, to go join his counterpart to wherever it might have landed.

"_Elliott!_" Andy clawed at the air, trying to grab it, but it flew away. He rounded on his brother, "Why did you do that?!"

"Oops," he shrugged nonchalantly and stepped back inside, with Andy still following him. It looked like Elliott was going to have to try harder to get his brother to understand that he was _dangerous _and that he had to _go_. It was for the best.

Andy's exasperated voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "You can't just _stay here_. What will you even _do_? What are you going to eat? Do you plan on surviving on sheer willpower—?"

"I'm done talking, baby brother," Elliott said, trying to put steel to his voice. "I—I'll stop the winter _and _get rid of those Meltling things. Just not with you here. Go away."

You could have heard a pin drop with the silence that followed, could have cut the tension with a knife. Andy's face was one of contorted rage. Elliott wanted to melt into a puddle.

"Are. You. Serious. _Are you serious right now Elliott_?!" Andy exploded. Much like he had at the coronation party, his brother exploded. "_After all these years_? _No_. I am _not _going away! For years you treated me like I was nothing, just because, _what_?" Andy stomped the ice floor, "Because you have _ice powers_?"

"Andy, you don't understand," Elliott said, his tone equally as heated. More spikes emerged from the walls, high above, so neither of them noticed. "You never will."

"Did it ever _occur _to you to _trust _me? That, perhaps, I _would _understand?" Andy spat.

Elliott scowled. He decided the _only _way, was to shut out his brother again. With a shake of his head, Elliott spun on his heel, turning his back on Andy.

And that did it for the youngest Prince of Arendelle.

"I BURIED OUR PARENTS _ALONE_, ELLIOTT!"

The temperature dropped like 10 degrees. Andy's angry breath steamed out in short puffs, his fists clenched in front of him, as if it were going to turn into a fistfight.

"Go back home." Elliott's voice was dark, it didn't even sound like it belonged to him.

"There it is!" Andy announced, pointing an accusing finger at the King's back, "the door you _love _to slam in my face!"

"I'm not listening to you," Elliot said, turning around to face his brother once again, and before he could stop himself, he added, "You're just a fool who married a stranger."

"_That _is so _unfair_," Andy cried. "So yeah, I jumped at the first chance to leave my miserable, lonely life, can you really blame me? When you didn't care to give me any explanation of why I had to live in complete isolation?"

The jab about their parents had been painful enough, but Andy's words now were just salt to the wound.

"Reckless fool is what you are. You only ever see the things you want to see," a layer of frost formed around Elliott's feet. He took a huge breath, trying to compose himself, realizing that all he was managing to do was hurt his brother instead of just getting him to leave like he so desperately wanted. "I'm just trying to protect you, Andy," he said between gritted teeth, barely managing the words. All he felt then was the gripping fear slowly clawing its way back after he'd released it in a cold mountain what seemed a million years ago, and _anger_. As much as he did not want to, he was _mad_. Mostly at himself, but Andy's remarks had not helped.

Snow started to fall from the ceiling, at first gentle and slow, but then it picked up speed. Andy sensed it, that feeling animals probably got when they felt an avalanche coming. He blinked away his tears, "Elliott, please don't shut me out again. Please don't slam the door." His brother's voice was softer, the fight going out of him.

"Andy... The glove failed. I have _zero_ control over my curse," Elliott's tone was flat, defeated. Admitting that he couldn't control the curse was actually _very_ devastating, after years and years of trying to convince himself that he could. "What power do you have to stop this winter? To stop _me?_" Elliott lowered his eyes and yet again turned away from Andy's gaze. "You can't. _No one can_."

The snow that had started to fall from the ceiling was now about the size of a shoe and it was swirling around Elliott. Andy tried to step forward but was quickly buffeted back.

• • •

_Beware the frozen heart_.

The words that that Meltling had screamed across the gorge came to him then, as Elliott dismissed his efforts and placed the blame for everything on himself. The small blizzard Elliott's fear was creating was quickly becoming unbearable.

At first he'd tried to be as gentle as possible, persuade him to go back, try to keep his bitterness to a minimum but then things went wrong faster than he'd expected. Elliott had _changed _alright. For the better, he liked to think, he did not look scared of everything anymore; but Andy had pushed him too far _again_. He'd regretted bringing up their parents the _second _the words had been out, and much of what followed after, and overall Andy reflected they could've both handled the situation a lot better.

"Elliott, stop trying to do everything alone! You are _not _alone. We can face this thing _together_. Just... Let. Me. Help. _YOU_!" the small storm was so bad now he couldn't even get near Elliott. His brother seemed completely oblivious to the small blizzard around him, and the winds which were becoming stronger and stronger carried what his brother was mumbling to himself, stuff along the lines of "curse", "monster, "winter."Andy noticed then that Meltlings, unfortunately, were also an extension of Elliott— they represented those not so good feelings.

He had his back to Andy, tucking his hands between his armpits in case a shot of ice decided to escape. That way it wouldn't hit the Prince. The more Andy screamed over the storm the more upset Elliott got, the fear was swallowing him like a wolf.

"_Everything will be alright_—" Andy tried to yell over the howling wind, but Elliott roared just as loud at the exact same time and the blizzard sucked itself back inside him— before getting released in all directions— like sharp ice shards except it was Elliott's pure magic— and suddenly Andy felt like someone had shoved an icy hand in the middle of his chest, like those evil queens in stories that ripped out hearts.

He fell to his knees, and a coldness spread over his chest like a splash of ink on paper.

And so instead of ripping it out, the cold hand just settled there, gripping his heart.

Elliott turned then, after that burst of uncontrolled magic he looked calmer, if only a little. But then he caught sight of Andy on the floor and his stormy eyes went wide, "Andy—"

A far stronger voice echoed back at the same time, "ANDY!"

Krista barreled in then; he noticed that her hair had been braided over her shoulder and the fuming General trailed behind her "You're going to _ruin _it!"

Normally he would've snorted with laughter, had the sudden press of cold in his chest not been so heavy. The General had been _braiding Krista's hair_. That was too precious. He forced out the laugh anyway and smiled, and for Elliott's sake, he stood up, determined to hide the pain. Krista reached him, her eyes searching, "Are you okay? We heard—"

"I'm okay. I'm _fine_," he said the last world directly at Elliott, who was growing apprehensive.

"Who is she— no, it doesn't matter. You _have _to go, it's not safe here," Elliott clasped his hands together and looked around— ice spikes protruded from the walls, slowly growing.

"Andy, maybe we _should _go," Krista looked around nervously at the previously beautiful floor and ceiling, which were growing more and more ice spikes by the minute.

"_No_." Andy said firmly, trying not to focus on the uncomfortable feeling of having cold iron pressed against his heart, "I'm not leaving without you, Elliott."

"See, brother... that's where you're mistaken," Elliott's face was grim as he waved both arms in front of him, and from a pool of ice magic the most menacing creature Andy had ever seen clawed out.

A dragon emerged into the room, roaring in a similar fashion to the piercing sounds the Snow Duchess had made. It was about the size of a fishing boat, with beautiful icy scales that shimmered in the cool light, the folded wings almost translucent. The beauty didn't make up for the sharp ice claws and matching fangs it possessed, though. The long tail made a wide sweep, almost hitting them, but Krista pulled him back.

"The Blizzard Dragon," Andy breathed. Well at least what the dragon would've looked like had it been _real_. He remembered with a twinge of embarrassment his obsession with this dragon when he was little; this was one of his old charcoal drawings brought to life. He glared at Elliott, "Oh, so _this _is your idea of keeping me safe?"

The dragon fixed them with hard sapphire—colored eyes.

"Well, you _did_ tell me once that you'd killed the Blizzard Dragon, had you not?" Elliott's smile was crooked. "He'll just see you out. Farewell now."

Andy vaguely recalled bragging about that. But that memory was foggy, like so many other new ones were. The new ones that he couldn't tell if they were real. The dragon leered closer, and Andy felt Krista's hand squeeze his in urgency.

"I— I didn't— oh, for heaven's sake!" he squeezed her hand back and pulled her along as they ran out of the room, they couldn't take the path that they'd come from that led to the front door because the dragon was in the way, so instead they went to the far back of the room to a staircase that went down. Andy dreaded all they would manage to do was get themselves deeper into the palace.

He heard ice crack behind them.

The dragon was following.

• • •

Andy, the blonde girl and the General took the wrong path, but it mattered not. That wing of his castle was still under construction, and he was pretty sure a chunk of wall was missing somewhere. Andy would figure it out. He could only hope the Blizzard Dragon didn't trample too much of his stuff, and he did not want his brother harmed. He was sure the dragon wouldn't, and when it came back, they'd hunt down those Meltlings together and be done with it. After that, he'd stress over unfreezing the kingdom.

But for now Andy would be heading back to Arendelle, to safety, so that gave him some peace of mind. And _hopefully _those Meltlings hadn't made it to Arendelle. Dwelling on what had just happened would only make things worse, so Elliott did his best to ignore the last few minutes as best as he could. What he needed was to get distracted. Maybe he could finish building the ice chandelier he'd been working on. He ran a hand through his hair and strolled out of the room, only to almost trip and fall.

He caught himself and glared at what had caught his foot. The satchel Andy had brought with him.

Elliott picked it up, examining it cautiously. It probably wasn't _Andy's_. He suspected it belonged to that mountain woman that had come with him. He wandered back to the foyer, looking through the things inside. It didn't have much, but what it did contain was _heavy_.

He sat down on an ice bench and pulled out the two things of most interest to him: a wooden case and a book. First he opened the case and was delighted to find it stocked with food. Although he hadn't admitted it, Andy had been right: he had no idea what to do about food.

He was famished, and helped himself to some of the nuts and dried meat, making a mental note of somehow paying them back. Maybe create a little snowman to deliver it back to them, since, hey, he could apparently do it. The water in the canteen wasn't half bad. Still chewing on some of the meat, he inspected the book, it looked pretty old.

**Arendelle: A History**

_My history tutor hated this book...why did Andy_...?

He set the meat down, wiped his hands in a very un—kingly manner on his trousers, and opened the book. The first thing to jump at him was the picture of a woman... a woman much like him.

'_Queen_ _Adela_' the caption said, '_Founder and first ruler_ _of Arendelle_.'

Her clothes were old-fashioned but really elegant, she had a heart—shaped face and kind green eyes, much like Andy's. She had platinum blonde hair in a French braid, the color exactly like Elliott's, and she also shared his smile.

Below the caption was a long, handwritten note along the margin that made Elliott's breath catch in his throat.

_YOUR LAND SHALL BE CURSED WITH UNENDING WINTER_

* * *

**focused this one on "Life's too short", the deleted frozen song instead of the reprise for the first time in forever, tho i still added some stuff from that. i suggest listening to it, it's a fun song**

**+++ if you don't remember the Blizzard Dragon I suggest looking back at the first chapter**

**++ hmm also! i _tried _to make elliott a lil darker than elsa and i think it kinda worked out, but i cant just have him go full on bad i mean elsa was an angel i cant do that. **

**+ uploaded this earlier than i planned cos, again, the amount of reviews just made me rly happy so this is a thank you! im glad ur enjoying this story and i hope its going well**


	14. The Truth

Krista would have appreciated the amazing palace a lot more had a menacing ice dragon not been chasing them through halls and rooms. The only thing stopping it were the small arches and hallways it had to squeeze through, otherwise it would have caught up a long time ago. The sound of its wings scarping against the ice were her only way of telling how far it was, because she did not dare risk taking a look behind them.

The inside was even more beautiful. But she had mere seconds to appreciate every intricate carving on the walls and on the columns, which was upsetting. Even more upsetting was Andy's labored breathing and the effort on his face while they ran.

_Elliott had struck him with his powers_. The stubborn Prince would probably deny it, but Krista saw it herself. Their argument had been so loud, she heard it from outside. It had got to a point where she decided to just go in and stop them. She saw the magic fly in all directions, and a good portion of it managed to hit Andy square in the chest. Elliott had had his back turned, so she doubted he saw— or that he'd meant to do it in the first place. The _dragon_, though, that had been intentional. A "goodbye I don't want you here" would have been enough in her opinion, but the King just _had _to go that extra mile.

She wondered if something similar to that had happened all those years ago, when the King and Queen brought the two boys over to the trolls. "_Ah, it's just his head_," she remembered Grand Pabbie saying, "_Good thing it was not the heart. That is tricky to change. But the head can be persuaded_."

That wasn't exactly comforting.

Neither was General Winter, clinging to her back because his stubby legs couldn't carry him very far or very fast. He kept taunting the dragon, making it madder.

"Let me at him, m'girl, I'll bash its bloody head in," and then, to the dragon, he yelled "YOU HEAR THAT? _I'LL BASH_—"

"Can you stop—"

"Why? Afraid I'll hurt his feelings? _AFRAID I'LL HURT YOUR UGLY FEELINGS_—"

The dragon roared as they rounded a corner and its face came crashing against the wall, the brute had tried to lunge for them. General Winter cackled like a maniac in her ear, whooping at the dragon's groan of pain. Krista almost smiled, but Andy's gasps for air stopped her. With the dragon distracted for a little bit, she guided them to a door that was almost see-through, the ice so fine she worried it would just shatter if she pushed the door open. Light filtered through, so that room probably was better lit then the rest of the palace.

It pained her to destroy such beautiful work, but it was either that or the ice monster behind them, so she tried to gently push it open, but it still shattered on contact. They hurried inside.

And things just kept getting more and more beautiful. Rows upon rows of ice roses decorated the greenhouse or glasshouse or whatever the king had been going for. He'd even gone as far as adding tiny elaborate details; he made it look as if the roses had been sprinkled with water, but he had recreated that with his ice. Tiny, frozen water drops.

She was torn between loving his powers and hating them.

Andy was panting, his hands on his knees.

"Are you okay? You don't look okay," Krista said uneasily, bending her knees to try and get a look at his face.

"Yeah... just—just gotta catch my breath, that's all..." the lie was so weak even the General snorted incredulously at it.

"You can rest when we're good and away from that thing, m'boy," said the General, still with his cold hands wrapped around Krista's shoulders, he pointed at something at the far end of the room, "Look, there's a way out."

There wasn't anything at the far end of the room, Krista could see the blue sky and the snowy landscape. So that's why the room as so bright, there was no thick ice to keep the sun's light out.

"Andy, you can lean on me," Krista told him, "You're gonna spit up a lung at this pace."

"No, thank you—"

"I'll carry you if I have to," she warned him sternly, " I swear I'll carry the both of you." She didn't know if she actually _could_, but she'd be damned if she didn't try.

"She will," the General said helpfully.

Andy glared up at her, but in the end he sighed and slung his arm over her shoulder, the General leaned away a little to make room for it.

They wobbled onwards, the roses on either side framing the path.

• • •

Andy was so, _so _thankful that Krista was as stubborn as he was, her supporting him was doing wonders for his running, otherwise his legs would've gave away and the dragon would have got him and done— what? Kill him?

_No_, _Elliott would never_, and still he defended his brother in spite of everything. Fiercely loyal, or tremendously stupid— which was he? Hopefully the first, but unfortunately he seemed to be the latter. He felt sicker by the minute— he was sure he was surviving on sheer adrenaline by now. And when _that _ran out... what then? What had Elliott's power done?

He didn't have time to question it, because a very large and very angry dragon crashed through the door to the greenhouse and roared, making the walls shake.

"The overgrown lizard's back," the General reported, like they were deaf and blind and couldn't feel the shake of the whole room or something.

"Gee, you think? I didn't notice!" Krista quickened their pace, taking long strides and pulling Andy's slow self along. He'd be dead without her.

Behind them the Blizzard Dragon stomped and crashed through every one of his brother's roses, the unrelenting crunch of them marking its path.

_"Go away_," it said in a raspy voice, and just in time they reached the end of the room. Krista tightened her grip on Andy and launched them forward to a not—so steep slope, and they tumbled down to the bottom.

Andy looked up at the dragon, who stood at the edge of the missing chunk of wall like a guard dog. It snarled at them before beginning to retreat. The Prince realized the palace wasn't complete. There were other parts of it like that one, missing a wall. That's why Elliott hadn't been bothered that they'd gone down the stairs. He knew there were other exits, oh, that brother of his was so—

"I think your brother makes 'em progressively worse," the General said, loud enough for the dragon to hear, "I was the first, so obviously I came out perfect. But that ice lizard up there?" he laughed like he'd just said the funniest joke in the world. "The quality just keeps going down."

Krista groaned, half-buried in the snow bank they'd landed on. "Are you _kidding me_? Stop provoking—" but unfortunately the General's intentions came true and the dragon turned back around and roared, spreading its wings.

"Why! Why would you do that?" Andy cried, swatting the snowman's shoulder.

"That's a _Meltling_, m'boy. Be it small and annoying or large and murderous, it's still a Meltling and _I must kill it_," he pulled out his sword which Andy had completely forgot about. It was a toothpick compared to the dragon.

"I _detest _you." Krista plucked the snowman effortlessly and slung him behind her like a backpack. She quickly stood up and pulled up Andy as well.

"_Put me down, _I command it!" the snowman squirmed and let itself fall, but Krista picked him up again, this time cradling him to her chest like a puppy. She grabbed Andy's arm and pulled him along yet again, while the Blizzard Dragon trudged down the slope, his steps not as confident anymore. It actually looked kind of awkward coming towards them. They ran.

"Whoa!" they stopped abruptly at the edge of the cliff, a really long drop the only thing to catch them if they fell.

"It's a hundred foot drop," Andy said, he kicked some snow over the edge and watched it become smaller and smaller until he couldn't see it anymore.

"Two hundred," Krista corrected as she looked Andy up and down, "Where's the satchel? I'm going to need some rope and my pickaxe—"

"The satchel— the..._Oh," _Andy slapped his forehead, cursing at himself internally, "I left it back with Elliott!"

His world became significantly darker when a shadow loomed over them. And gulped and glanced behind him at an angry dragon with its icy nostrils flaring.

"Hmm. Thinking back on it, I _probably _shouldn't have done what I did," mused the General, as he stopped struggling to free himself from Krista's arms. "I have made a terrible mistake."

Andy could practically see the gears in Krista's mind turning. Her arched eyebrows and the way she was biting her lip. She locked eyes with him, "There's at _least_ twenty feet of fresh powder down there... we _could_ survive the fall."

He clasped her hand and squeezed, smiling at her despite the painful coldness raging inside his ribcage, "Let's do it, mountain woman."

"It'll be like landing on a pillow," she promised.

"_You'll break your necks_," the General muttered.

The Blizzard Dragon gave out a deafening roar— and that was the last thing Andy heard, because the next second he was falling.

• • •

...

Two young boys, playing in the ballroom.

"_You're not going to make a good warrior this way_."

"_Yeah? You're gonna make a stinky king! The Ice cube King! That's pretty lame_."

... and it was dark.

Sliding down a slope in a sleigh, Elliott's laugh in his ear.

... cold. He was cold, so very cold.

Talking to his Kai.

"_Elliott says he doesn't wanna go riding to the mountains, because he says it's _cold _up there? Sometimes I just wish I had a brother more like me, you know_?"

... the darkness continued.

"_Do you wanna build a snowman_?"

... a light...

Helena's pleading hazel eyes.

"_Please be careful. I don't want you getting hurt_."

"_He's my brother. He would never hurt me_."

...

"_There it is! The door you love to slam in my face_!"

I'm sorry_._

"_What power do you have to stop this winter? To stop_ me_?_"

...

"_Andy_?"

_Her _voice.

The darkness stopped, and Andy's eyes snapped open. He sat up gasping. He was in a dimly lit cave, with various shadows dancing across the walls.

"He's awake!"

Afraid, Andy looked around wildly. The cave was illuminated by a couple of torches, he was laying down in a bundle of blankets. At his feet, Suri snored. And he felt cold.

He only calmed down when he realized Krista was sitting right next to him. Her hair was loose again, the blonde curls managed to look artfully tousled— and there was a bandage wrapped around her head. Without thinking, Andy raised a hand to touch it, "What happened to you?"

"Ow," she complained, she didn't pull away though. "I banged my head against the cliff. I'm fine, though. I got a thick skull."

"I don't have a skull," a silky voice murmured.

Andy's eyes widened at the... the _Erik _that came into view. Erik had been Elliott's tutor back home. But this one was a miniature version, barely five feet tall, and of course entirely made of snow. And, if that hadn't been enough, a snow Gerda appeared from behind him, carrying blankets. She put them over Andy and pulled them up all the way to his chin.

"You rest now, m'lord," she said, in a voice much like Gerda's, but scratchier than the original's. The woman that had pretty much raised him after his parents...

So Elliott _had _modeled more snowmen after people he knew. Great. He expected the snow Mama and Papa any moment now. It was a cozy enough cave, he was laying down on the floor with Krista sitting to his right and the other two snowmen to his left.

"I don't even know what to ask first," Andy admitted, meekly looking around.

"Then I will. Why, no matter how many blankets I put on you, can't you get warm?" Gerda frowned at him, with the same face the original made back at the castle when she couldn't get a stain out of something.

"I _told _you," Krista said, "Elliott struck him with his magic."

_That _jolted him out of his half—asleep state, as the latest events of his terrible life came crashing back down. "Oh...oh, _he kicked me out_! I can't go back to Arendelle with the weather like this—" he waved a hand at the mouth of the cave, which was pure white. "What am I gonna do?"

Krista tried to push him back down, "Hey, hey, calm down—"

"Why are we here? _How _did you find us—"

"One question at a time, my lord," Erik said with the same rich, cultured voice Elliott's real tutor had, "We found you buried in the snow." He pointed a snowy finger at Suri, "Your reindeer was trying to dig you out, we heard her cries."

Krista patted her reindeer's head affectionately. Even Andy smiled.

"And this is one of those emergency places I told you about. For when harvesters or rangers get lost. But this one is more of a shelter in case of storm or avalanche," Krista finished. He could see she spoke the truth, from the blankets he was wrapped in to the food Krista had been eating before he woke up. He flushed, realizing she hadn't got any rest but instead chose to watch over him.

"We have been hiding here from the Meltlings," Erik said. "They are quite troublesome. General Winter is standing guard," the snowman added, answering what would have been Andy's next question.

The Prince relaxed, "So you're good guys."

"If by that you mean we weren't created from the darkest pits of your brother's mind, then yes, we are good guys," Erik looked almost bored. Just like the real one often did. "Let's pray none of those violent creatures come here."

"Did someone mention _violence_?" the General wandered in, and when he saw Andy awake he almost tripped over his own feet in the process of reaching him, "M'boy!" he lifted his face, squeezing his cheeks, "You are alive!" he shot a look at Erik, "I _told _you, I _told _you he would live!"

Ice Erik rolled his eyes, "He'll live looking like _Jack Frost_."

Andy barely remembered the myth about the immortal being supposedly responsible for winter storms. It was said Jack had snow white hair and liked to prank others with his powerful staff. He remembered the phrase his mother used to say when she deemed him not prepared enough for the cold weather "_Careful! You don't want Jack Frost snipping at your nose_."

_Elliott is a real life Jack Frost_, Andy thought.

"Why would you say that?" Andy frowned at the smirking ice tutor.

"Um... don't freak out," Krista said. She picked up a plate and let the remaining crumbs tumble down to Suri's eager mouth. She held it up to his face, so he could see his reflection.

The lone streak of white in his hair now had company. It's like it had spread— a few of his bangs were now white too. He gasped and almost dropped the plate as another tendril of hair turned completely white.

"_What_? I don't understand? Is this happening because Elliott hit me with his magic?" Andy tossed the plate aside, trying to smooth his hair down in a useless attempt to _stop _it.

"Most likely, yes," Erik deadpanned.

Andy blinked, the thoughts forming slowly in his mind, "So... so that means the original one was also from Elliott's _magic_? I wasn't _born _with it?"

He thought back on all those odd memories, the ones that suggested he had known about Elliott's powers when they were little. _And _Krista's suspicious attitude before they climbed the mountain. He locked eyes with the girl, "I think we ought to have that talk now, Krista."

Krista opened and closed her mouth, shifting her eyes away. She hugged her sides, looking uncomfortable.

"General, Erik, Gerda— a moment, please?" Andy said, his eyes never leaving Krista.

Gerda left without protest, Erik looked like he wanted to stay but he did as he was asked. The General, though, looked insulted, "It's really infuriating how you keep asking me to leave you on tricky situations."

"It's not a _tricky situation_, I just need to talk to her," he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands, trying to ignore the creeping cold having a party in his chest.

The General huffed, and muttered some very unflattering things about Andy, but he left them alone. Andy shivered and sat up, pulling up the covers to try and get a little warm, but he felt cold no matter how many layers he had on him. Krista still wasn't looking at him.

He took a deep breath, "Krista, about that thing you didn't want to tell me—"

"I wasn't even supposed to _know_! I was just a stupid little girl at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Krista's outburst startled him, scared him a little even. She was finally looking at him, and she looked surprised herself. She went back to hugging her knees close to her chest.

"What do you mean?" Andy said, as softly as he could. "What do you know that you're not supposed to? And I _know _it's about Elliott. So please just... _tell me_." The last part came out more forceful that he intended, but it wasn't his fault. He was _really _tired of people hiding things from him.

Krista made a helpless, desperate sound. For the first time she seemed at a loss of words.

She knew about his brother's powers, before the coronation incident_._

_'__So what caused the King to go all ice-crazy?'_ she'd casually said back in the sled. But she _hadn't_ been to the coronation, she had been returning from the mountains, that's also how she knew where all the snow was coming from in the first place. What were the _chances _of her pinning the crazy weather on the _King_ of all people?

At her silence, Andy sat up straighter and glared at her, growing more and more annoyed.

"Were you and him _lovers_?" Andy blurted out. It was a complete and utter wild guess, with no foundation whatsoever, but Andy's frantic brain hastily put the pieces together; _that's _why he never paid any attention to suitors, he'd been having a secret affair with the cute mountain woman and told _her_ his secret—

"_What_?" Surprise, irritation, and about 10 other emotions crossed her face in an impossibly short time. At least that got her out of the shell she'd got herself into; in the end she settled for a scowl, "Stop being ridiculous. Now you're just grasping at straws—"

And then he was yelling, "Then _how _could you have possibly known about his magic? Even _I _didn't know! And I'm his _brother_—"

"You used to know!" Krista finally snapped, she surged forward, her face really close to his. "You _knew_ about Elliott's magic. But then, one day, he almost killed you with it!"

Andy pressed himself back against the wall without meaning to, like she'd punched him. _What?_

"And then your father, the King, he said they'd hide his power from everyone. Including _you_!" she jabbed a finger at his chest, causing him to flinch. "So they took away your memories of _all magic_ after saving your life. _That's _why they closed the gates!" Krista had completely lost her cool, and when she realized this, she immediately drew back to herself, looking at him warily.

"I... _Krista_." Was all he managed. He felt like when he'd first laid eyes on the Snow Duchess, completely bewildered. Actually, it was pretty similar to what he had felt when Elliott had shot that blast of ice at the Great Hall, and then ran away. Like everything he knew suddenly _popped_. Ceased to exist. Like it wasn't what he actually thought in the first place.

He tried to focus on _one _question, out of the hundreds buzzing around in his head.

• • •

"_How _do you know all those things?"

Krista chewed the inside of her cheek, regretting every word that had exploded out of her. Like she'd said, it was _not _her place to tell Andy. It was Elliott's. But the truth was out, she supposed, so she might as well finish and give the Prince some peace of mind, because the look of heartbreak on his face was just too much for her to handle.

"I know because I was there," she said slowly, not quite meeting his eyes, she did not need another eyeful of his crushed soul, "When Elliott accidentally hit you with his powers, they brought you to my family." _Yes, _let Elliott explain about the trolls. "So they healed the ice in your head, but along with that, they replaced the magic memories with completely ordinary ones."

Andy looked like he'd swallowed a bitter herb. He lifted a shaking hand, touching the white in his hair, "So I wasn't kissed by a troll? The original _was_ Elliott's doing?"

She was _pretty darn sure _she had deliberately avoided the word _troll_. She was about to deny everything, but Andy continued talking.

"So _that's _why. _That's _why he shut me out," his face was suddenly one of immense relief. Krista blinked in confusion. His face broke into a small, soft smile, "It wasn't something _I_ did. Elliott was... trying to protect me."

"Andy..."

• • •

"For him, love means sacrifice." He remembered little Elliott, the pained look he shot him the first time he'd locked himself inside his room. Sacrificing himself. So Andy would be _safe_. He was torn between loving and hating his brother for that. Even that _love is sacrifice_ principle lived on in General Winter. Not for the first time, he wished Elliott would have _just told him_. A sudden surge of love for his brother hit him, and for a split second, the ice lodged inside his chest seemed to lift, ever so slightly.

"So you're not... mad?" Krista asked.

"Well, _yeah_, I mean, they tampered with my memories and robbed me of my brother—"

"—to protect you—"

"—still. I'm just _glad _to know the truth, kind of. So thank you." He was about to drop it to just get his train if thought in order, but then he frowned, "Wait—how did your family—"

"I'll tell you about my family," she promised, "But not right now... _actually_," tentatively, she took a white strand of his hair between her fingers, "We might actually have to pay them a visit soon. They fixed you once, they'll do it again... you should get a little more sleep before we set out."

He wanted to press further, but the look on her face was clear; _later_. He shrugged, giving her a little smile, "Hm. Alright. But you should get some rest, too."

And he really meant what he'd said about being glad to finally know. So many things had made so little sense to him over the years. Elliott wouldn't shut him out for no reason. The reason was that he'd almost killed Andy.

So those random flashes of memories, they'd been _real_, the snow days indoors had been a _thing _at one point. He longed to remember completely, not just conform himself with the little snippets he had. He hoped _Krista's family _would help him, whoever they may be. People who could heal magic and change memories?

But then, as they got older, why did Elliott not simply tell him the truth?

Back at the party, he remembered the panic in Elliott's face when he said "_May I speak to you, Andy?... Alone_?" Had his brother planned on telling him at that moment? To tell him why they couldn't have 12 other people there with them, because his magic was dangerous? Andy felt like a fool.

Another golden chance to tell him the truth would have been... when their parents...

_That _would have been the perfect time to tell, he thought. It had probably been the darkest time of his life, when he had to stand between two gravestones by himself surrounded by people that were practically strangers. When the heir to the throne had not shown up to their parent's funeral, more than one eyebrow had been raised. Kai gave some weak explanation about Elliott being sick with an extremely contagious disease and that it was of 'the upmost importance' his brother rest. Andy remembered thinking, _Oh, is he sick every day?_

The more he learned, the less he understood.

He felt a headache coming and he settled back down, closing his eyes.

* * *

**++ it is exam week for me, so i don't know when the next chapter will be up but it'll probably be soon**

**+ so there's a little rotg reference up there, i do hope you have watched rise of the guardians and if not i mean it's alright but u should def see it. **

**thank you for reading! :)**


	15. Queen Adela

Krista woke up to the sound of soft snoring.

Which was weird because a) trolls did not snore and b) neither did reindeers. At least Suri didn't, ever. Her eyes were slits, and the most she could see was the dim light of a fire somewhere. She stayed still for a moment longer, for some reason she felt _really _comfortable, for the first time in a while actually. But then she remembered where she was. She'd been watching over the Prince until he fell asleep again, keeping his rapidly decreasing temperature in check, and then her eyes grew heavy and—

She opened her eyes fully and felt the slow but still steady beating of Andy's heart under her ear.

_Still beating, still beating, thank the gods_—

And then she remembered _who _he was and who _she _was and she jerked back. That was the _Prince_ _of Arendelle_ she'd been snuggling against _holy gods_. He was still fast asleep, his mouth slightly agape with a fine line of drool on his chin; with his splatter of freckles across his nose and the innocent face, he looked so peaceful.

She felt a flutter on her chest and she wanted to both _stop it_ and make it last forever. And yet, she couldn't help but smile. He hadn't felt so cold. Not like he had a while ago, when his skin had felt damn near like ice. _Stop thinking about it_.

Krista felt a nudge from behind, but powerful enough so she went flying back into the Prince. She managed to stop herself so her hands landed on either side of him, she was hovering over Andy. She glared over her shoulder at Suri.

"_You little_—" she hissed. Her so—called friend snorted and stomped her hooves, and if reindeers could smirk, this one was.

She looked up at Andy who was wrinkling his nose— maybe having dreams again? Or waking up?

_He's engaged to someone else_.

The thought practically left a sour taste in her mouth. She sighed, started to pull away. Suri made a disappointed sound, and Andy's green eyes fluttered open.

"Hello?" he said, an amused smile immediately gracing his face.

Krista would have absolutely _loved_ to be a troll right then and be able to turn into stone. She envied all her family that moment. She felt the tips of her ears get warm as she hastily pulled away and backed up as far as possible, "Suri—pushed me, I— don't you dare think—"

"Krista—" Andy began with a cheeky face she wanted to slap right off his face, but just then there was a gasp of shock that cut him off.

The General had come back.

Naturally, he went _ballistic_.

• • •

"_I leave you alone for 5 seconds_—_so irresponsible_— _never in my life_—"

"You've been alive for barely a day," Krista retorted.

The General sputtered in anger and pointed a finger at her, "Well! You were the one making the advances here, _I saw you_!"

"_I so wasn't_—"

"— trying to seduce the young man. _Unacceptable_!"

"Yeah, Krista, you were _so _seducing me," Andy laughed, ignoring the stinging pain in his chest that the simple action caused. Erik and Gerda stood to the side, trying to hide their laughter as well. Krista's face, though, was _priceless_. He believed the poor mountain girl, considering how _smug _Suri looked, but the General was blind to that. And, hey, after _all _her teasing about Helena and all that other stuff, it was nice to see her get flustered for a change.

"And _you_," the General turned to him then. He was sure that if the General had had any blood pumping through his veins, his face would've been purple by now, "Were you raised in the bloody jungle? It's your fault as well!"

Andy's smile melted, "Wait, what? No, no, I'm _good_. I'm innocent. But Krista here can't seem to keep her hands—"

He felt a chill run through him and a tiny spasm ripped through his body. It was as if the cold hand holding his heart had squeezed it. Like a reminder, _still here, still cold_.

"His hair," Krista gasped, as she broke the General's new rule that she had to be at least 5 feet away from him. The General didn't seem to care, though, he also rushed to his side. Krista grabbed his face, her own full of worry as she stared at the patch of white on his hair, "It's spreading again."

"What happens when all of it turns white?" Gerda's fearful voice whispered.

"It won't," Krista all but growled. "My family can fix this."

"How do you know that?" the General said.

"Cos I've seen them do it before," she stood up and went over to somewhere out of Andy's sight, and came back with a new satchel, "We gotta leave _pronto_."

"I haven't finished packing your—" Gerda started, but Krista was already putting a harness on Suri and fastening the straps.

"Can your family do magic, girl?" Erik said with the distasteful tone the real one always used when speaking of magical things. Which was stupid, because _this _Erik was made entirely from magic. Guess Elliott's creations got as close to the real ones as they could.

Krista didn't meet his icy eyes and didn't stop getting supplies together, "Yeah."

"You should not leave the safety of this cave," Erik advised, "Who knows what the two Meltling leaders might be planning."

Krista regarded him coolly, "The leaders?"

"We met with the unbearable shrieking one when climbing to the North Mountain, but I took care of her," the General told him, "We haven't encountered the actually threatening one."

"And I really don't want to meet the _actually threatening one_," Krista leaned down to help Andy to his feet. She then managed to get him onto Suri's back and he clung to the reindeer's neck clumsily. "Thank you for helping us, though. Thank you so much."

"Of course," Gerda bowed her head and Erik arched an icy brow but the snow teacher didn't say anything. Krista sat behind Andy and helped him into a more comfortable position. The General then joined them, again clinging to Krista's shoulders like those tiny bears across the world— with the big noses, Koalas were they called?

"You'll stay here?" Andy said, trying to even out his breathing and get the pain to _stop_. The little spasm had felt horrible— but it had ended really fast, and he was now kind of alright. At least he'd hold on a while longer, he hoped it'd be enough to reach Krista's family.

"Yes, m'lord," Gerda said. "Please be careful of the Meltlings."

"If the two leaders weren't together, the other one is up to something," Erik's voice called as they exited the cave, "Be on guard."

Like they needed to be told that.

• • •

_YOUR LAND SHALL BE CURSED WITH UNDENDING WINTER_

Elliott got the sudden urge to throw the book across the room and never pick it up again.

The line sounded almost prophetic— because, hadn't he just done _that_? Curse Arendelle with winter in summer? And he couldn't stop it.

The little handwriting on the note was loopy and elaborated, and his gut instinct told him it was a girl's. Queen Adela. He stared at the picture of his ancestor a while longer. He wondered it if had been her had that had wrote that warning, prophecy, or whatever it was. He turned the brittle page, and the next was full of words.

_Adela of House Stormur was daughter to King Alfons and __Queen Ida. __Born with a secret power so great, alone, she stayed in fear. Although the force was hidden, one day she let it go. And all the land was covered in eternal ice and snow__. _

Elliott couldn't read the next part, as it was suddenly covered in a thin layer of frost. His heart was so still with tension that he was afraid it would crack. His hands were frozen over too. _He wasn't a complete freak... there had been someone like him, once._

_Get it together_, he willed for the ice to go away and let him continue. But the Queen's story, it was... was just like his own.

_The kingdom splintered, and she was shunned and left alone. Her heart was broken twice and slowly her soul turned to ice. She lived in exile, far away from all she knew._

_Lost her kingdom and her family_, Elliott thought darkly, _just like me. Everything is exactly_—

He didn't want to continue this story, because so far it was hitting too close to home. The kind of rhyming the author had used wasn't all that great either. He knew how it would end; with lots of self-hate and fear, didn't he know it. _But it said she was the first ruler of Arendelle. How did that come to be_—?

_But then the Usurper came from the South. With an army of 10, 000 men he threatened to conquer the frozen kingdom. The King and the Queen relented, begging their daughter for help._

Well... _that _was an interesting turn of events. Elliott knew the story of Gregor the Usurper, some southern lord who thought he could conquer the North. On record, on the stories his tutor Erik had read him, unexpected weather conditions killed the Usurper because he was not prepared for the cold of the North. But then nothing else.

_The exiled Princess did not measure her strength, and between her fear and her hate, she created a glacier that destroyed everything in its wake. The Fjord was created, and so was the Ice Queen._

Elliott took a huge breath through his nose— he had certainly _not _expected _that_. He let out the breath slowly and turned the page, where the story continued. The happy ending he secretly longed for seemed less and less likely.

_She ruled over men and women of her own creation, made entirely of snow, the madness settling over her like a veil of hate and mourn. Huge, bulking ice monsters carried rock from the mountain, and soon the snow people had built a palace and a village. The eternal winter of the Ice Queen kept them alive._

It was official. Elliott _hated _this story. Things like _Meltlings _had built Arendelle.

_She lived isolated until a vast migration of people arrived. They had escaped the raging war of the East and the South, seeking shelter. Queen Adela was at a loss; why would they want to live with a monster such as her?_

Elliott could relate on a deep level with the poor, mad Ice Queen.

_But the people believed in her, and saw that she was good. Soon the village was populated, and she did not need her ice monsters anymore. Together they created a new prosperous kingdom, and so Arendelle was born. She felt free and loved, there was beauty to be had in a magic so like hers. The people adored her, and so love thawed in the end._

Love...

Love...will..._thaw_...

Elliott frowned, he didn't really understand the ending or the secret to ending the winter, but he felt as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Those first Arendellers, they had known about Adela's magic and they... they had accepted her. They _adored_ her, it said. They weren't... afraid of her. The kingdom had been prosperous. Elliott felt like a fool. It was _him _who had been afraid, not the others. Well, save for the Duchess of Sandlane. But see Andy— how eager and how accepting he had been. How he'd pleaded to get him to go back...

_Fear will be your enemy._

The old troll had been right.

_Queen Adela killed everyone she loved_, a voice said in the back of his mind_, you think you can be any different?_

Could he?

_Yes_, a stronger voice replied for him, _the old troll said there was beauty in your magic. And there is. Look around_.

Elliott felt tears sting his eyes as he indeed looked around at the amazing ice ceiling and perfectly sculpted everything—else. General Winter, full of life. The second voice had sounded like his father's. The first one had sounded like him.

"Or I'm just going crazy," he said out loud, closing the book, "Like she did."

But he'd be lying if he said he didn't want an ending similar to Adela's. She had suffered a great deal, but in the end...

_But the people believed in her, and saw that she was good._

Never mind. He liked the story. The ending gave him _hope_.

He smiled crookedly and put the book away, a resolution forming slowly in his mind.

Elliott wanted one for himself, even if monsters didn't get happy endings.

• • •

The closer they got to the Valley of the Living Rock, the more anxious Krista got too.

The sky was dark, with the Northern Lights guiding her way home like they often had on many other occasions. The King's storm had barely affected that general area, and she wondered if that was Grand Pabbie's earth magic. Huge, mossy stones and the smell of wet earth told her that home was close.

The General lounged on Suri's back without a care in the world, his icy eyes fixed on the dancing green and red and blue lights in the sky. Andy and Krista walked behind them, because the Prince had just _insisted _that he could walk by himself. He was still a little brooding after her confession, but he seemed to understand at least.

"Don't fall asleep, Soldier Anders, sleep is for the weak!" the General rumbled when Andy had been teetering dangerously close to his side.

"I—I'm not!" the Prince protested, blinking fast. But he _had_. He was getting weaker, and his hair whiter. He shivered.

Krista instinctively went to put her arm around his shoulders, but hesitated and pulled back at the last second. She passed it off as rubbing the back of her neck instead, blushing. Andy hadn't even noticed. He was too busy feeling cold and miserable.

"Hey... so, about my family..." she tried to distract him, "They're, uh... not, like, my _biological _family."

"You're adopted?" Andy blurted out. That seemed to pull him out of his probably not very positive thoughts.

"Yeah... it was just me and Suri after...well..." Krista shrugged, leaving the rest to his imagination, "Point is, they took us in."

"They did?" Andy smiled warmly, for the first time since they'd left the cave, "So you don't have magic like them?"

"Nope. I'm completely ordinary."

Andy nodded thoughtfully, "Can't wait to meet them."

Krista laughed nervously, "Yeah, um, I just wanted to give you a head's up, cos they can be, like... loud. _Very _loud. They talk a lot of nonsense. And they're inappropriate. A little overbearing at times."

"And you say you're not related," Andy cracked a smile. She smacked his arm, but she was glad to see him more or less happy.

"And they're heavy," she added as an after—thought, "Really, _really _heavy."

Suri snorted, looking back at them over her shoulder like she understood. _That's an understatement_.

"Krista, I bet they're lovely," the Prince touched her arm lightly, a small smile on his face, "They raised you and took care of my brain damage. How could I not like them?"

"_Brain damage_..." he managed to get her to laugh, and he looked notably pleased. He'd stopped shivering for now, which is always a good thing. But then she stopped when they reached the clearing. "Okay, then..." she took a deep breath and stepped into the valley, "Here we are!"

The General jumped down from Suri's back and scanned the area, but all there was to see were rocks.

• • •

"Hey guys!" Krista called cheerily to the bunch of rocks. She turned and smiled at the dumbfounded General Winter and Prince of Arendelle, a broad smile on her face, "Meet my family!"

That's all the valley seemed to have. Rocks and moss and grass. No sign of Elliott's storm anywhere, which was odd since the rest of the Kingdom was affected by it.

"...they're rocks," the General stated.

"Scaur, you're looking great!" Krista said amiably to one of the rocks, like one would greet a close friend. "You've lost some weight!"

Suri bounded excitedly from rock to rock, sniffing and nudging them with her nose. Her tiny tail wagged happily like a dog's. Andy simply stood there, his brow furrowed. He wasn't about to call Krista _crazy_, he'd spent most of his life talking to pictures on walls and busts of marble, so he definitely wasn't one to judge. But the General was.

"She's gone bonkers, m'boy," the General said, barely moving his snowy lips, Andy had to lean in to listen, "I'll distract her, and you _run_. You _run _like your hair's on fire. Understand?"

Meanwhile, Krista seemed to be looking for her mother, "Ma? Where are you?"

"_Hi, _Krista's _family_," the General said in a slow, loud voice, "It's _nice _to meet _you!" _he walked up to the nearest mossy rock he could find and patted it, "There, there, nice rock. Beautiful rockiness. Aren't you precious."

"Umm..." Andy glanced between Krista and the General, who was glaring at him now.

"Why aren't you running?" he hissed, but then he turned to the rock with a wide smile, "I've been told you can do the _magic_!"

"I— uh, I have to—," Andy took a few steps back and almost stumbled, he decided to heed the General's advice and bolt. Maybe come back once—

But suddenly the rocks started to roll towards the center of the valley, where Krista was. The rock the General had been touching sprung up into a tiny creature with big eyes and a flat nose. It winked at him and thanked him for the compliment before it rolled away to join the others.

The sound of a rocky avalanche ended when all the rocks had gathered and unfolded, all of them around the same size save for the... _children_, who were half that size. They had different colored crystals hanging around their necks and clothes made of grass and moss. All Andy could do was stare.

"My little girl's home!" a woman's deep voice yelled, and a bunch of the rock creatures cheered.

"Krista! Krista!"

"It's been so long! Krista's home!"

Andy's mouth was open dumbly. All he could do was a mix of staring and trying to form a coherent sentence. The small creatures had all their undivided attention on Krista, who was grinning from ear to ear. A sea of voices were welcoming her.

"Oh, lemme look at you!"

"Suri's hungry, Kri-Kri!"

"Where's your hat?"

"Baby, what happened to your head?!" that was the woman's voice again. Krista got yanked down by pure rock strength and got inspected, "Why is it bandaged? _Who hurt you_?"

"Ah! No, Ma, I'm fine, just a little bump," Krista laughed and touched the bandages gingerly, then she stood up and looked around over the sea of heads, "Is grandpa around?"

"He went with the littles to look for herbs," one of them replied, "He'll be back shortly."

"Krista, carry me!" one of the little ones jumped up into Krista's arms. She gasped and struggled to hold the weight of the little creature, but she managed it. After a heartbeat, it dawned on Andy.

"Oh... _oh_, they're _trolls_!" Andy had said it in a normal, awed tone, but his voice came out louder than all the others. Everyone heard it. Hundreds of shiny black eyes turned to stare at him at the edge of the valley.

General Winter drew his sword. "Stay back!"

"_She brought a man_!" the woman troll, Krista's _Ma_, raised her arms to the sky like _praise the gods_.

The sea of rocks launched themselves at him.

* * *

**+++ Kay so for the Adela story I used some of the lines from Frozen's first trailer, when they were talking about Elsa? I thought that fit in kinda nice.**

**++ thanks to everyone who wished me luck in my exams! not done yet, but i wanted this up as soon as possible because **_**yes**_

**+ So! Fixer upper up next, eh... was never a huge fan of that song, and since it serves little purpose the transition is gonna be a little tricky but I think i may have figured something out. we'll see how that rolls, hopefully not too bad**

**(theres like 50000 things inspired by game of thones so yeee)**

**thank you for reading!:)**


	16. Fixer Upper

Andy was lifted off his feet and carried above the heads of the _trolls_, it felt like a million ants right under his royal butt. The General yelled obscenities somewhere behind him, "_Unhand him you maniacs_!"

"The angry man is funny," the little troll Krista was holding said once the Prince was safely deposited by her side.

"He's got his charms," Andy admitted, smiling as the sea of trolls parted to make way for the General who was swinging his sword as if he were traversing the jungle or something. Luckily Suri swooped in and headbutted the fuming general away, in a _let's play_! kinda way. Many of the trolls gathered lost interest and went elsewhere or folded back into rocks, but a few were still focusing on them.

"Ma, this is Prince Andy. Andy, that's— Bulda, my mother—_ish_," Krista was about to say more, but the troll lady —Bulda— climbed on top of a normal stone and pulled Andy close, studying him carefully.

"Let me see, let me see! ... eyes like celery," Bulda said as Krista snorted with laughter at the beautiful metaphor.

"Why not _sparkling emerald orbs from the gods_?" Andy mumbled, but he was abruptly cut off when Krista's mother grabbed his chin.

The troll's coarse fingers pulled his lips apart like a dentist, "Got all his teeth, too!" Bulda squeezed his bicep, "Hmm... you could knock him to the ground, but not bad!" she grinned broadly, "He'll do nicely for our Krista!"

"Wait, what?" Andy pulled back, his _celery green _eyes questioning the troll.

"_Ma_," Krista groaned as she covered her eyes with her hands, "That's _not _why we're here!"

"Yeah, we don't— I'm not—" Andy hastily gestured at the air between himself and Krista, like what they actually _were _would just pop up from thin air and present itself.

"What're you scared of? What's holding you back from such a lovely girl?" Bulda wiggled her grassy eyebrows and Krista made a mortified sound.

"Is it because of the way she sometimes spits when she talks?" the little troll Krista had been holding earlier piped up.

"_Pewter_!" Krista looked like she wanted to kick the little troll a good 50 feet away.

"Or how her ears get red as strawberries when she's embarrassed?" an older male troll asked, and pointed at Krista, "Like right now!"

"Come on, Andy, we'll wait for Grand Pabbie somewhere _away from all of you_," she didn't wait for his consent and grabbed him by his collar, stomping away from her intrusive family. So the trolls _were _pushy, just like she'd promised— but Andy kinda liked them. Since his family was so little, growing up around so many others must have been nice.

"I haven't seen a walk like hers since the Jurassic times!" the same troll giggled and a few others joined him.

"Pay him no mind," Bulda bounded after them, surprisingly fast for someone made of stone, "He's just teasing. But, seriously, Andy— you'll never meet a girl as sensitive and sweet!"

"_Ma_," Krista's annoyed pout at her mother was just the cutest.

"Oh, sheesh, Kri—Kri, it's not like we're telling him that you're smelly," Bulda rolled her black eyes.

"Even if you are," Pewter, the little troll, had also caught up with them. "He's also stinky!" he pointed at Andy.

"What? No, she's not... and I'm not either?" Andy said, a little offended. Krista actually had a fresh kind of smell, a mix between the forest and— well, a nice smell. Not like those expensive perfumes that made his head dizzy that were used by highborns... wait, _why _was he thinking this!?

"They're not used to... human smell," Krista rolled her eyes, "If I smelled like dirt and worms, then that'd be _normal _for them, I guess... Oh, here we go." They stopped in front of a house made of thick slabs of stone and moss with a slanted roof and a wooden door. Like a little hut.

"Home," Krista sighed, she tried to shut the door behind them, but at least 10 other trolls managed to barrel in after them. Krista quickly went to start a fire in the hearth, and Andy got a look around. It literally looked like the place was solely for sleeping, which it probably was. There was a bed with a thin mattress and furniture made of stone, a mirror, a basin, a kind of vanity and not much else.

"As you can tell, I don't spend much time here," Krista told him, flopping down on a stone chair, "I go with the ice harvesters, or to the village."

He liked her little house, he decided, sitting down on the cot. For as long as he'd been here, the restless pang of cold in his chest had seemed to decrease— this place had magic, he could feel it. He wondered if it was protecting him.

"She's a bit if a fixer upper," Bulda finally said, reviving their previous conversation. "Little flaws, we all got 'em! Like, she's got that thing with the reindeer," and like she'd been summoned, Suri tired to poke her head through the window, but she couldn't because of her antlers. She stood outside, her tongue hanging out.

"Oh, Ma, _please_—"

"It's a little outside of nature's laws," all the trolls nodded in agreement, like _they _weren't. But, hey, Andy figured anything was fair in a world where his brother could shoot ice from his fingertips. The thought of Elliott made his already damaged heart clench painfully.

"But you can fix this fixer upper up with a lil' bit of love!" a male troll said brightly, nudging Krista's knee playfully. The blonde looked like she wanted the earth to swallow her. Andy understood Krista's warning of 'they talk a lot of nonsense.'

"Can we stop talking about this, Cliff?" she told that male troll. She pointed at Andy's hair, "We've got a serious problem here! Are you sure Grand Pabbie—"

But it was like Krista was talking to the wall, because all the trolls were flocking over Andy, their eager faces full of questions he could barely answer.

"Is it the way that she runs scared?"

Andy patted little Pewter's grassy head, "She fought the Blizzard Dragon, I'll have you know," Krista smiled gratefully at that. It wasn't _exactly_ the truth, but who cared?

"Or that she's socially impaired?" Bulda seemed legitimately concerned about that, trying to cover Krista's ears. The grumpy girl shook her mother's hands away.

A few trolls left after Bulda gestured them away, which was a little suspicious.

"She's been civil, don't worry Bulda," Andy tried to breeze through the questions, but they just kept coming.

"Oh, good. I was gettin' worried that her isolation was confirmation for her desperation for human hugs!" Bulda rambled on and Krista had given up trying to protest, she simply burrowed her face on her knees. For some reason, what she'd said reminded him of Elliott. "The way to fix up this fixer upper is to fix her up with you!"

Krista jerked up at her mother's latest words, "Enough, Ma! He's engaged to someone else, okay?"

The sadness and hurt on her voice startled him. He wanted to say something, but Bulda beat him to it. She spoke only to him, "So you're a bit of a fixer upper too."

"That's a minor thing," Cliff, the male troll waved away her concerns, "Get the fiancé out of the way, and the whole thing will be fixed!"

The brief mental image of Helena getting dragged away by a bunch of wild trolls was actually a little funny, but Andy refused to laugh.

"_Krista, come out quick_!" a troll came running in, sounding out of breath. He gave Bulda a thumbs up.

But Krista didn't catch the last part, she was just about ready to get away from her family. "Grand Pabbie's back?" She stood up and ran outside, waving Andy after her. He followed her out.

Which was a mistake.

He was immediately whisked away by a band of male trolls, while the same happened to Krista but with the females. He barely caught Krista's screams of bloody murder, as he was busy with the male trolls powdering his face with gods—know—what and trying to flatten his unruly hair.

"This—what are you— _what are you doing_?" Andy shut his eyes just in time as the spongy sort of material got powder on his face. He felt a heavy thing being placed on his shoulders which was nice and warm. He opened his eyes to see the mossy cape draped across his shoulders. "What is happening?"

"Let me tell you something about your, ah, _quote _engagement, Prince," a troll stood tall in front of him, being held up by Cliff. His shiny black eyes were piercing, "People make bad choices if they're mad, or scared, or stressed. But... if you throw a lil' love their way, you'll bring out their best!"

_People make bad choices if they're mad, or scared, or stressed_...

Andy thought of Elliott.

• • •

"Love's a force that's powerful and strange," Bulda gushed as she braided Krista's hair with a few more leafs. "True love brings out the best!"

"I— I don't— don't _love_ him, Ma, _stop_," she said halfheartedly. Krista once again tried to pry Kivi's thick fingers from holding her down, but it was futile. She had an iron grip, as did the others holding her down as they covered her in a grassy cloak and Pewter rushed forward, holding a flower crown. The little guy placed it on her head and squealed in happiness.

"I am a love expert, do not question me," Bulda said in her usual no-nonsense way. Her mother suddenly cried out in delight, "_You look beautiful_!"

Kivi and the others released her and clapped and whistled and Krista just felt her ears getting warmer and warmer. Scaur had been annoyingly right when he'd pointed that out. Besides _all the other things_ they had said, their bluntness was almost painful. Krista had tried to warn Andy— but not even she could've imagined how crazy they would get. And who knows what Bulda intended to accomplish with this whole—

When her eyes landed on Andy, her breath caught in her throat. Normal people would have found them ridiculous— with the matching capes made of moss and grass and whatever else, Krista with her flower crown and Andy had been given a silly—looking hat made out of twigs, but the Prince had never looked handsomer to her.

He had been looking slightly bewildered, but when the trolls moved away, his eyes found her. At first he looked confused, like he didn't recognize her, but then that melted into realization and finally to a smile with such fondness she felt her heart soar.

She was ushered from behind by Bulda and Kivi, just as Andy was pushed by Cliff and Scaur until they bumped into each other. Andy was still staring at her with something like adoration, and she felt a furious blush spreading from her neck to her face. _Why..._

She didn't notice _all _the trolls had gathered around them again, nor Scaur standing tall on a stone, holding an old book in his hands. All her mind registered then were green eyes flecked with gold and a freckles and a loving smile and... _why him_. She only noticed when a few daisies rained down on them and the sound of Bulda's cries of happiness.

Scaur clearing his throat broke the broke the spell, "Do you, Prince Andy, take Krista as your trollfully wedded—"

"Wait, what?" Andy's intense gaze fell and he turned to Scaur's voice.

"It's a wedding!" Scaur said, like it wasn't obvious, and Krista's mouth dropped open in horror. "Everyone's a bit of a fixer upper, but when push comes to shove, the only fixer upper fixer that can fix a fixer upper is _true_ _ love_!"

_Way to ruin things, stupid family_—

But two things happened.

General Winter appeared then, he came riding Suri like a madman, yelling his snowy head off about something. The second thing was, Andy convulsed again, just like he'd done before in the cave, and this time he _collapsed_.

Krista didn't even think as she shot forward and caught the Prince. He was shivering uncontrollably, his teeth rattling. She lowered him to the ground as gently as she could, "_Andy_! He's... he's as cold as ice!" her voice rose with panic.

Beside General Winter, a new rock rolled towards them and unfolded, revealing Grand Pabbie's bushy eyebrows and wild mane of hair. A bunch of crystals dangled from his neck.

"Grand Pabbie!" Krista had never felt so relieved to see the old troll.

"Found the grandpa!" General Winter informed them, but his icy eyes were only for Andy, who was leaning heavily against Krista.

"There is strange magic here," the old troll said in his slow, measured voice. He made grabby hands for the Prince, "Bring him to me, Krista."

Krista obeyed, and the troll examined Andy's half—open eyes with a frown.

"Anders. Your life... is in great danger," out of all of them, Grand Pabbie was probably the bluntest, "There is ice in your heart, and your brother put it there." Andy shuddered and tried to speak, but he couldn't. Krista gently moved the hair away from his eyes, feeling awful.

"If not removed, solid ice you shall become. Forever," the ancient troll's words sent a shiver of dread through Krista. The rest of the trolls around them murmured worriedly, Krista had all but forgotten they were still there.

"W—what... No... No..." Andy shook his head feebly, struggling to sit up, but he didn't have the strength.

"So remove it, Grand Pabbie, please," Krista said, remembering why they'd come here in the first place. He'd done it before, years ago, when the same thing had happened to the Prince. He cured his head, why should the heart be any different?

The old troll looked anguished, "I can't."

Krista's heart plummeted to the floor.

"If it was the head again, it would be easy. But the heart... only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart," Grand Pabbie explained. Andy... could...die... _Andy_. The sole thought almost brought tears to her eyes.

"_Good thing it was not the heart. That is tricky to change._" Grand Pabbie's words from ages ago came crashing back to her. Tricky, meaning that... only true love can thaw?

"An act of true love?" Andy frowned, swallowing with effort.

"Oh! A true love's kiss, perhaps?" Bulda arched a brow and grabbed Cliff, giving him a kiss.

Many trolls behind them followed suit.

Another tiny spasm shot through Andy, and his hair turned even whiter. Well over half of it was now white, barely any strawberry—blonde was left.

It pained her—gods, did it pain her— but Krista said, "We've got to get you back to Hasinta."

"Helena..." Andy corrected weakly, the tiniest of smiles on his face.

"It's not much, but it will help, at least for a short while," Grand Pabbie grabbed one of the red crystals hanging from his neck and yanked it off. He offered it to the Prince. "Earth is my element, not fire nor ice, but this fire crystal should delay the ice in his heart."

Andy could barely move his arms, so Krista took it instead and put it around Andy's neck. The Prince gasped and he sat up, his eyes relieved of pain for now.

"Thank you," he croaked, placing a gloved hand over the red crystal, which was glowing faintly. Grand Pabbie placed a hand on Krista's forehead, and then pulled away the bandage.

"It's all I _can_ do," the troll said quietly, still looking helplessly sad.

Krista touched her head— it didn't hurt anymore. She smiled and took off the flower crown too, "Thank you, Grand Pabbie."

"Suri, to me," Krista raised a hand and the reindeer padded over. Krista watched Andy as he got to his feet, not looking quite so weak anymore. She felt a surge of gratitude for Pabbie then. They both got on Suri's back, and Krista waved her family goodbye.

"Let's go kiss Hasinta!" the General said enthusiastically, a stark contrast to Krista's sour mood. _Yeah let's go make out with the Princess who is a thousand times more deserving of him_. But that was a small thing to do for Andy's life. She'd pay _any _price, and if an act of true love is what he needed, then she'd do anything so he could have it.

They rode away.

"..._Who is this Hasinta_?"

• • •

Helena had grown to believe that everyone was unique. But then, her sister Cecile told her differently.

"_See, sweet sister, that isn't the case with you. Astrid got the ambition, Sonja the beauty, Katherine the courage and Johanna the wits. We all have something. You, Helena, you got the grand prize_— _you got a little of all those things. Unfortunately, you also got _all _bad things too. You are cruel like Astrid, vain like Sonja, proud like Katherine, and cynic like Johanna. You are all of us conveniently put in one person. The leftovers, if you will."_

She'd only named four out of twelve, but it was still enough to scare her. She wondered about Sophia and Cristina and Rowena and all the others— _was _she all her siblings put into one? She hoped not. They were all _horrible _people, and if she was their combination—

"_And what did I get from you_?"

Cecile's lips had curled up into a wicked smile, "_Wouldn't you like to know?_"

She'd _always _been told to ignore Cecile. She was sick, they told her. That's why the 3rd Princess of the Isles was always bedridden, rarely allowed to have any visitors. She lived in the east tower, far away from all her other sisters.

"_It's because she's crazy_," Cristina had let slip once.

"_Don't say that_," her twin, Sonja, had said sharply, and she'd gestured at Helena. "_The little one's listening_."

"_She takes after Cecile_," Cristina smirked, "_they are both loony_."

Helena shuddered— both from the cold and from the unpleasant memory. Her fingers, tucked inside her pocket, fiddled with the special dart she'd brought for the King. Just in case he got difficult. They'd been riding for who—knows how long now. Her back and legs were sore, but they continued on to the North Mountain, where all the snow was coming from and where hopefully the King would be. And they hadn't run into Andy, which was a little unfortunate.

So far all she'd learned from this stupid trip was how much she _absolutely detested the cold_. Her eyes were sick of all the white. She longed for the warmth of the Southern Isles, but she longed even _more _for a throne of her own, so this Northern garbage would have to do.

"My lady!" the scout she'd sent ahead of the party was back, the fat man's face was red with effort, "My lady I— I think the King _is _at the North Mountain."

"Good!" she said, that lifted her spirits if only a little. She looked over her shoulder and spoke to the others, "We are here to find Prince Andy, but if we also find the King, be on guard for anything."

"My lady, there's... there's something..." the scout fumbled for words, but after about five seconds of illiterate stuttering, Helena rolled her eyes and left him behind, wanting to be the one to get the first look.

The Ice Palace was something she had _not _been expecting.

Built on the side of the mountain, it was probably the only good thing to have come out of this insufferable winter. A staircase was the only bridge to get across, below that was a mighty fall. Johanna would die if she laid eyes on such a perfect structure. She felt around for the dart, having it gave her comfort. She would be dealing with greater powers than she'd expected, so she was glad to have that safety net. The other thing that gave her comfort was the sword at her hip.

She smiled confidently, "Alright, men, let's just—"

A deafening roar echoed across the mountain, shaking the ground and the snow off the trees. The horses kicked and whined, a man was even thrown off his mount and the horse fled in terror. Helena managed to keep her own in check, tugging at the reins and doing her best to comfort the terrified animal.

"What was that?" one of the men yelled, and suddenly there was no more sun.

A large shadow descended on them, landing with a loud _thump_. The whinny of every horse almost drowned out the shrieks of the men. Helena, however, was already calculating.

The snow dragon was big enough to maybe eat a horse in two bites, and a man would be no problem in one—with the wicked sharp spikes it had for teeth. It was an impressive creature, she had to admit— the ice scales shimmered in the light, the neck long and elegant— she would have loved nothing more than to slice that slender neck off with her sword.

She dismounted and drew her sword. Strangely, her horse didn't flee. _Good_.

"_Princess_," one of the men warned.

"Don't _Princess _me," she shot back. Her blazing eyes never left the dragon's cold blue ones, "He's _mine_."

* * *

**++++well the song transition wasn't half bad! and i like to think that the trolls weren't really talking about kristoff, but about elsa in fixer upper, so yeaa there's that**

**+++...most troll names are the word 'rock' translated to different languages lol**

**++jenn lee confirmed hans' last name is Westergard, soo princess helena has a last name now i guess**

**+also! im sorry i cant reply to reviews, but feel free to ask me anything through my tumblr /herrnes. my exams are over, so updates should be a lil more frequent**

**thank you for reading!:)**


	17. Long Live the King

**Real quick A/N: Some cussing. in case ur not comfortable with that**

* * *

"_Go away_!" the dragon growled in a strange, raspy voice.

The bunch of idiots she'd brought along with her threw their spears, and all _that _did was sink into the dragon's snowy body, useless and stuck. Their action only seemed to make the beast mad.

The first two fools to charge were the Duchess' two thugs, who were easily slammed back by a blow of the dragon's powerful tail. They landed on a snow bank, dazed but not dead unfortunately. A little more force and they probably would've died. Pity they didn't.

The dragon lunged. Helena rolled under its legs and stabbed it in the back of its thigh, but that only seemed to anger it. The dragon roared and tried to hit her with its tail, probably trying to impale her with the sharp shard of ice at the tip of it. It missed her by a hair.

She saw movement at the top of the staircase— a flash of platinum blonde and blue. The King! But the door was shut just as quickly as it had opened. _Damn it all_!

It charged again. The Princess dodged sideways this time and stabbed the snow monster right under the arm. The sword's blade was buried to the hilt in its ribs. That was good news. The bad news was that it was wrenched out of her hand when the dragon turned, and she was thrown across the snow, weaponless.

This time the dragon bellowed in pain. It clawed at the sword until it came loose and fell behind him. She wanted to scream. The dragon stood between her and the sword. Her eyes scanned her surroundings quickly and she saw the morons of the Duchess going up the staircase straight to the palace. She _hated_ that, _she _was supposed to find and bring back the King, not those two. Only the gods knew what that insane woman had told them to do. They could_ not _kill the king, not if he didn't bring back summer first. The small dart inside her pocket felt heavy.

_I have to stop them_, she tried to skirt around it, but dragon anticipated her move. It blocked her path, growling. It had her cornered.

She remembered, long ago in her southern home, Katherine's sweaty face and glinting green eyes as she taught her little sister the art of swordfight. Of course, _none _of her other siblings would _ever _think of it as an art, they were proper little ladies who thought only men should do the fighting. But Katherine had been different. She scoffed at needlework and attended tournaments and not just for show like others did— she placed bets and called out insults, and actually _understood _what moves the knights dueling were doing.

Helena had been young when the 8th Princess of the Southern Isles gave her a sword. It had been a thin blade, with a nice balance and a good grip, she had loved the feel of steel in her hand. Her older sister had had it made special by the blacksmith for her. She'd named the blade Mirror, because at first the youngest princess had only used it to look at her reflection, but later it because like part of her arm as she learned to use it.

Katherine had taught her so much, she remembered with fondness the thrusts and parries, the shield blocks, every swipe that left her battered and bruised (the _only _bruises from her siblings she had pride in.) In the end, it was always Helena's sword that clattered out of her hand.

She'd end up flustered and confused. No matter what, she could never beat Katherine. A moment that marked her was when she was down on the ground with Mirror out of her hand, her older sister had looked down at her with a serious expression, "_Your problem, sweet sister, is your arrogance and nothing more_. _It is your fatal flaw, and should you not acknowledge it, it'll be your downfall_."

Katherine was the sister she loved most, but that comment had made her blood boil. _How dare her_. Back to the present, Helena narrowed her eyes, locking them on the menacing snow monster in front of her. Arrogance would certainly _not _be her downfall, and much less some stupid abomination created by the Ice King. She gathered her courage.

She feinted to either side. The dragon blocked her. Helena braced herself and charged straight ahead, crouching low so it would think she was going to roll between its legs again. While it was stooping, ready to catch her, she jumped with all her might— kicking off its forearm, scrambling up its shoulder like it was a ladder, and finally placing her boot on its head.

Helena used her momentum to slide down the dragon's backside, she cringed at the unpleasant feel of its cold skin raking across her legs; she made it to its tail and jumped away. She somersaulted to the place where her sword had landed. She grabbed it and swung blindly behind her when she felt the dragon's cold breath showering her with sleet, making some of her hair frost over.

There was a yelp of pain and she heard the glorious sound of ice cracking. She twirled around expertly, her sword arm raised, ready for anything. And then Helena realized the damage that her blind slice had done. If a dragon could look shocked, this one did. She'd neatly cut off its right wing, leaving only the left twitching uselessly.

It was her chance. Strike while it was stunned and unbalanced. She gripped her sword with both hands, and with all her strength she thrust it deep in the snow dragon's chest. It wailed pitifully and she kicked it hard— then pulled out the sword as the beast fell back to the gorge beside the ice stairs, more than half its body hanging.

It struggled and clawed at the snow, desperate to climb back. Without its wing, there was no way it could make it. Helena smirked wickedly and ran for the ice steps, determined to stop those two idiots before they did whatever stupid thing the Duchess ordered them to.

Just then the dragon did one last attempt— it raked its massive claws across the staircase as it fell, roaring in agony. A good chunk fell away and Helena almost lost her footing— _almost_. She used her sword as a sort of anchor, and luckily the ice didn't crack and break.

"Princess!" one of the useless people of the party she'd brought finally decided to appear. _Yeah, where were you about 20 seconds ago? _But she smiled at him nonetheless, sheathing her sword.

"No harm is to come to the King." _Unless it's by my hand _she added mentally, "Now, follow me!"

• • •

Elliott regretted his decision of peeking outside 5 seconds after he'd done it.

He'd been gathering his courage to... to go back. To Arendelle. The thought made him nervous. The thought scared him. The thought was all he was holding on to.

Driving out Andy had been a mistake, and he was sorry for that. He would go back and make things right. Fly back on the Blizzard Dragon, even. It would solve nothing of all the problems he'd caused, but making an entrance sure didn't hurt.

But _no_. The sound of fighting had made him look. And those two men in red uniforms— _Sandlane uniforms_— had seen him. Two huge, mustachioed men holding crossbows had charged up the stairs, chasing him.

Cold sweat trickled down his back as Elliott ran up the stairs, trying to get away. The light wasn't cool and blue anymore— it was stark yellow and it hurt to look. At least it wasn't that sinister red and purple it had been when Andy had left. He suspected the ice in the palace shifted according to his moods.

The chase stopped at the top floor— he could take the stairs down to the rose garden and all the other rooms, but the Blizzard dragon had destroyed most of _that_, and left many possible places where he could accidentally impale himself. So Elliott had to stop and turn... and fight?

"Stop!" Elliott said in the most commanding voice he could muster, but it dripped fear. "Stay away!"

The thugs completely ignored him. The biggest one loaded a bolt into the crossbow and shot it right at his face.

Elliott instinctively raised both arms and a thick wall of solid ice shot up from the ground, successfully stopping the incoming projectile, inches from his face.

_He'd been aiming to kill._

_They tried to kill me_.

The two thugs lost no time. The big one loaded another bolt to the chamber of the crossbow, and aimed at Elliott once again. They surrounded him.

The Ice King was having none of that. He slashed at the air horizontally with his arm, and from that ice shot at the two thugs, but they ducked away.

"Dom, shoot him!" the smaller one urged.

Elliott barely registered the sting of pain as the second bolt grazed his arm, because his vision was slowly becoming clouded with anger. Fear twisted in his gut.

For the first time ever, Elliott felt _cold_. But cold_ fury_ is what he felt.

"You missed, _Dom_," Elliott's words were full of venom as he slammed his foot down on the ground, and a quick series of spikes shot up from the ground, zigzagging towards the two men.

Dom rolled away just in time. The smaller one wasn't so lucky.

One of the spikes nicked him on the arm, and he dropped the crossbow. He lost his balance and slipped on the icy floor. He tried to crawl away, but Elliott made a closing gesture with his hands, interlocking his fingers. In turn, that created two diagonal walls of ice above the fallen man, like a small roof, and those were slowly pushing down.

The man was pinned beneath them, getting crushed. He gasped and struggled, trying to grab his crossbow, which was _just _out of reach. Elliott got the urge to kick it away even further, but Dom was still standing.

He _tried to kill me_.

Dom held up the crossbow, but it was shaking, his dark eyes wide with fear.

Elliott touched his arm where the bolt had grazed him. His fingertips came back with warm, bright red blood. Elliott stared at it. He looked up at the man and made a _tsk _sound.

When the man took a step back, Elliott snapped his fingers and a tiny square of ice popped up from the ground, which caused Dom to trip and fall on his back. The bolt got released and it sailed harmlessly over their heads.

"No! No, please, your Grace," Dom begged, but Elliott was deaf. The only sound he could hear was the steady beating of a drum inside his head. Somewhere behind him, the smaller thug was struggling to breathe under the crushing ice.

_He tried to kill me_.

He summoned a cold, powerful wind and the delicate doors that led to the balcony got blown away as if it had been a stack of paper. The snowflake door he'd been so proud of a lifetime ago was no more. Outside, the sky was blue with streaks of gray clouds.

With the helpless man still on the ground, Elliott splayed his fingers and two thick ice manacle—like things wrapped themselves around hid arms and legs, trapping him down to the floor. Elliott raised one finger, and a significantly large spike popped up right next to the man's head, drawing blood from his temple. But it grazed him, Elliott wasn't aiming to kill.

Yet.

Dom whimpered.

He raised a second finger and another spike shot up, this one appeared next to the man's jacket sleeve, ripping it. A third, right between his legs and too close for comfort. The man screamed. A fourth finger was raised and the spike that appeared was so close to the man's torso he was near tears.

Only one finger remained.

"_King Elliott!_"

Elliott whirled around, his fists raised, a murderous look on his face.

Princess Helena from the Southern Isles rushed in, followed by a few men.

She analyzed the situation, drinking in the scene quickly— one man getting crushed under a cage of ice, the other surrounded by 4 spikes.

Then she met his eyes, soft green met stormy blue— the latter had the look of a wild animal in them, a raging storm that could not be kept in.

"_Don't be the monster they fear you are_," she said, quietly, only to him. She made no move to draw her sword. She was letting him choose...

Like he'd been slapped, Elliott snapped out of it.

The spikes around Dom retracted back into the ground, and the solid ice crushing the smaller man disappeared as well.

Helena approached him carefully, warily, raising both hands in front of herself. She even smiled tentatively, _it's okay, it's okay_. Elliott's posture relaxed.

And suddenly his shoulder was on fire.

The smaller man, the one that had been reaching for his crossbow, managed to get it— and he _shot him_. Elliott stared at the bolt protruding from his flesh in disbelief, the cry of pain caught in his throat. All he felt was shock. Helena screamed at the guy,"_You stupid fucking moron!_"

Elliott turned his head slowly to face the man, who still had the crossbow aimed. The King raised a hand, and a spike of ice shot up from below the guy's foot— successfully impaling it in a spray of blood. The man dropped the crossbow and howled in pain.

Elliott narrowed his eyes, and prepared for the final blow.

_He tried to kill me_.

He raised a hand— but suddenly Helena was there, sticking something in his neck— and the world went black.

• • •

The King's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he crumpled, the legs going out from under him. Helena did her best to slow down his fall, even if doing so almost got him to topple on top of her.

Fritz was screaming his head off, the ice spike was gone from his foot the second Elliott hit the ground, but the gaping hole was still there. That would leave a nasty hole, and a terrible scar.

"What are you doing?" she scolded the rest of the men that were just staring, "Help them!"

She mainly saved the King because there was no guarantee Andy would marry her if she failed to save his brother. So she would not fail.

Helena cradled the King's head and pulled out the dart, slipping it back into her pocket. She _knew _it would come in handy. On second thought, she should have let Elliott kill foolish Fritz— what had that thug been thinking, attacking the King?

Fritz had seen firsthand what Elliott was capable of, and still he shot him. She winced at the bloodstained bolt sticking out of the King's shoulder. _That _would also leave a scar. Helena had been _this _close to reaching Elliott, get him to come back peacefully and stop the winter— but that bridge was burned now.

Worse still, she'd lost her cool in front of the men. But how could they blame her? Fritz _was _a stupid fucking moron. And so was Dominik.

They took the two crying men away, which was a blessing to her ears. She could not stand the sound of weeping. And Andy— he was not here? Then where?

_Maybe he never made it_, Helena thought darkly.

Well, _that _would be fucking terrible. If he was dead, then everything she'd done, _everything_...

She glanced down at the King's head on her lap. Well... marrying the heir _had_ been the plan on the first place. And she couldn't lie, she'd been _very _impressed with the way he almost murdered those two idiots. Powerful and cold, whereas Andy was loving and warm.

_But Andy is nowhere to be found_, Helena weighed her options, and decided.

"We're taking the King back."

* * *

**++++ I kinda didn't want it to be like in the movie, that elsa was literally dragged back- at least i wanted elliott to **_**make the decision**_** to go back by himself, kinda like Simba from the lion king, so at least there's that**

**+++ helena's sword is called Mirror 'cause you know, Hans was supposed to be a mirror, according to jen lee. ****with Anna he was clumsy and goofy. With the Duke he was aggressive. With Elsa he acted like a hero-powerful, but also scared**

**++ i got the names for the two thugs from tumblr, dominik and fritz cant remember from where tho**

**+ this was a little short, and i'm sorry about that! next one will probably be longer, tho i'm having a little bit of a writer's block, + thanks for all the follows/faves/reviews!**

**thank you for reading!:)**


	18. In Cold Water

**real quick A/N: there's a lil' swear word in there, in cause ur not comfortable with that**

Elliott woke up to a massive headache.

There was a dull ache on his neck, and a throbbing, persistent one on his shoulder. He squeezed his eyes and tried to remember...

_The ice palace, Blizzard Dragon, the Princess... _

_I got shot_.

Elliott sat upright, the light blanket that had been covering him slipped into the floor of his... cell?

He looked up at the tall stone ceiling, walls, everything. The air was damp and made him wrinkle his nose. He was laying down on a metal cot. His shoulder was bandaged, and he guessed the sweet taste on his tongue must be medicine for the pain. Disbelief, and a little outrage were the first things he properly felt.

On the other side of the cell was a small window, a narrow slit to see the world outside. He jumped to his feet a bit clumsily and ran to it... only to be yanked back, a horrible pain shot up his injured shoulder like a lit fire.

Massive iron shackles completely covered his hands, like gloves, and a thick chain bind him to the wall. Elliott stared down at them, his mouth going dry.

Just _what _were the odds of a blacksmith fashioning cuffs like this? That completely covered the hands? A venomous feeling climbed up to his throat; and he felt like he was going to be sick. _Someone had these custom made_.

_Did his parents just plan to lock him up eventually? _Elliott wanted to scream, or cry, but none of those happened. Instead, anger fueled his veins. _Screw them_.

He pulled the chains taut, stretching his neck to look out the window.

Andy had been right.

The fjord was _completely _frozen, he could see little from the window but as far as his eyes could reach everything was white. A strong hail was raining down, the beginning of a storm, and he could see the ships locked in place in the frozen water. There weren't cobblestone paths anymore, everything was ice and snow. And it was getting even deeper.

Guilt and terror twisted in his gut.

"No... gods, please... no..." _what have I done?_

He wanted to press his face against the glass, but the chains didn't reach that far, and all the strain was hurting his arm and shoulder even more. Pain pulsed through his arm, but he welcomed it. _It's the least I deserve after causing all this mess..._

His head whipped around to the sound of the door opening and closing quietly. Princess Helena walked in holding a torch, hugging her sides. She placed the torch on the wall and walked over to Elliott, unafraid.

"Why did you bring me here?" he demanded, shaking the chains. Despite everything, he was still the King, what did they think he was going to do—?

"I couldn't let you kill them...or let _them_ kill you," the Princess said, her breath fogging up in front of her as she spoke. That's when Elliott noticed; he couldn't see _his_ own breath. Wow, he really _was _cold inside and out. "And, believe me, after what you did, Fritz and Dominik were _very _eager. It's safer this way... for everyone."

He shuddered as he remembered that dark moment, the moment when he'd felt like a caged animal and almost killed two men. Maybe the lowest point in his pathetic existence. The moment shamed him, hurt him. The Princess stood tall in front of him, still hugging her sides and shivering against the cold. There was no sword strapped to her hip, either, Helena was not scared of him.

"I shouldn't be here!" Elliott wanted to cover his face with his hands but, obviously, he could not, "I'm a danger to Arendelle!" he remembered his coronation when the ancient Norse words had been said, how he'd bowed to protect Arendelle from danger— and that included from himself.

"Bring Andy," he demanded suddenly, for the first time questioning _why _it was the princess and not his brother here. Andy would tell them, Andy would...

"Andy..." Helena licked her lips and shifted her weight from one foot to the other, "Andy has not returned."

"_What_?" he turned his back on the Princess, straining to see out the window once again at the increasingly bad storm. _Oh, hell... _Andy could've easily been caught in the middle of that. A hundred different scenarios flashed through his head, each worse than the last. They all ended with him becoming an only child.

"He went to look for you, your Grace, but only his horse returned..." she looked out the window over Elliott's shoulder, a sad and worried look on her face, "I hope he's alright..."

His anxiety rolled and turned in his gut, growing every second. But he didn't get to torture himself much longer, since the Princess was suddenly _really _close, "If you would just... stop the bad weather? Bring back summer? Maybe Andy could find his way back."

Elliott tried not to sigh in exasperation like he wanted to. He met her gaze and told her the truth, "Don't you see? _I can't_. I want it to end as much as you do." He shook the chains again, making them rattle, "You have to tell them to let me _go_," he hated the way his voice cracked at the end. Elliott figured she could talk to whoever his brother had left in charge. _Them _could be Kai, or Gerda even?

Helena pursed her lips, those green cat—like eyes suddenly calculating, hiding her disappointment at his helplessness to stop the winter. "I'll see what I can do." She shot him one last, blank look and walked out, taking the torch with her.

The sound of cracking made him look down at his chained hands. They were starting to freeze over.

_The gloves did nothing_, Elliott realized, _because my father told me it would stop my powers, I convinced myself that it was true and ended up believing it. It was all psychological nonsense._

The storm raged on outside.

• • •

"The fire crystal is doing wonders to my health," it _had_ significantly boosted Andy's mood, but he was still feeling weak and overall _cold_. The crystal had delayed the process just barely. "Unfortunately, I still look like a sixty year old man."

"You could freeze into solid ice, and _that's _your biggest concern?" Krista grumbled in front of him, urging Suri to go faster still as they charged down the mountain.

"I'd make a really '_ice_ sculpture, don't you think?" Andy said, dealing with awful things the only way he knew how: terrible humor. "I'd be really _cool_."

"_It's not funny_!" Krista said, but she was betrayed by the small chuckle that escaped her.

The General slid on his tummy beside them, like a penguin from Andy's picture books. He'd decided to race against Suri, which was fine because all _that _did was motivate the reindeer to go even faster.

"The girl's right, m'boy, your jokes are childish." the General said, scowling at him.

"You give me a hard time about acting like a child, but _icy _that you're no better," Andy cackled, now on a roll. Krista's shoulders shook with controlled laughter, and seeing her laugh somehow made his heart a little less frozen, his grim predicament a little less bad.

The General looked like he wanted to punch him, "Your unfunny jokes deserve prison!"

"There will be just-_ice, _General, don't worry," Andy said. All those bad jokes would have been pure gold had they been told by Elliott, had his brother—

_Don't. Don't think about him_.

"The village!"

Suri slowed down to a trot, her hooves crunching over the snowy cobblestone. The General came to a stop too, drawing his sword, "Something's wrong."

He knew they should get to Helena as fast as possible, but he did not like seeing the village so deserted one bit. Sure, people would want to be warm indoors or in some shelter, but _completely _deserted? That was unusual. He expected at least some people gathering wood, or...

"It's so... empty," Krista deadpanned, the plaza clear of any signs that people even lived there. But every house had a fire, the smoke coming out of the chimneys in all the houses. The silence was almost eerie and Suri whined nervously.

"Yeah, something's definitely wrong," Andy looked at the windows of a nearby house, they were frozen over, so fogged up he couldn't see inside. A cold draft made him shiver and lean closer to Krista, whose back was tense.

"I don't like this..." she murmured. She guided Suri over to one of the houses, "My friend Jon lives here, just let me ask him what's going on, yeah? Then we'll go to the castle..." she dismounted and walked over to the door, with Andy right behind her.

"Jon? Who is Jon?" Andy said, hurrying after her. Walking was becoming a tedious thing, his joints were becoming a little stiff. He twirled the fire crystal around his finger, the small amount of warmth it gave out was reassuring.

"He buys ice from me to keep the fish he sells fresh," she said, and knocked on the door. He felt a tiny spark of jealousy somewhere in his gut. Which was totally illogical, since, one; he had Helena. Two, she said _friend_. Three, now Andy knew where this _Jon_ lived.

"I see, I see... is he taller than me?"

Krista gave him a bemused look, "He's about my height."

"So I'm taller! Cool, cool..."

"Why do you _ask_?" she smirked, but suddenly someone from the other end of the door _knocked back_.

"Hello? Is someone out there?" a man's voice called.

"Yeah! It's Krista Bjorgman? Is that you, Jon?"

"Krista! We can't open the door, go over to the window, please."

Andy and Krista exchanged confused looks. Krista called back, "Why can't you open the door?"

Suddenly the door shook, as if someone had thrown all their weight against it. Krista jumped back. "It's stuck!" Jon said, "Look for yourself."

And look they did.

"Whoa," Krista said, placing a hand on the margin, "It's frozen in place!"

Thick ice glued the door shut, making it impossible to open. Andy gave it a weak kick that made his whole leg ache, but still the door did not budge.

They went over to the window, and Krista wiped the fogginess away with her elbow. A guy about their age, with curly black hair and a neatly trimmed beard was peeking at them from the inside.

Andy saw the thick ice on the window too, it wouldn't be opening either.

"Jon!" Krista pressed her face against the glass. "What's going on?"

"Everyone's trapped... we— everyone is trapped in their homes."

"You could break the glass," Krista said.

"Then the cold would sweep in! And, besides, we don't want those things coming in."

"What things?" Andy asked.

Jon's eyes widened, for the first time noticing Andy and—no, not Andy. Someone behind Andy. The Prince turned his head to see what Jon was staring at with such horror— it was at General Winter.

"Those things!" Jon screamed, pressing a finger against the glass and pointing at the little snowman, "The things that froze the doors and windows! Those creepy things that make the annoying noises."

"Did that son of a gun just call me a _thing_?" The General waved his sword threateningly, decapitating the cosmos flowers on the windowsill. Jon screamed again and fell back.

"Meltlings!" Krista whipped around, her eyes scanning the deserted surroundings, "_Oh gods,_ they made it to the village!"

"We gotta stop them, then!" Andy said, looking around too for any signs of movement.

"No. We have to get _you _to the castle... to _Helena_," Krista mounted Suri and held out her hand, "Come on."

Andy crossed his arms stubbornly, "My people are in danger. I have to—"

"You have to _not die_," Krista said sharply, "Get on the reindeer, Prince."

"Stop being stupid," the General pushed him from behind, and he landed right on Krista's waiting arms. "I'll handle this, again. I'll meet you back at the castle!"

Just as he said that, a Meltling rounded a corner, all lumpy snow and beady little eyes. When it spotted them, it hissed, and fled back into the alley. The familiar screech of the Ice Duchess made Andy shiver from head to toe. She sounded not too far away. Accepting defeat, he climbed back onto Suri's back.

"Alright, you deal with them," Krista said, probably remembering how ridiculously _well _the General had fought back on the mountain. "But try to stay out of sight. I think you gave Jon a heart attack."

"That Jon is _weak_ and natural selection is coming for him," without another word, the General ran after the Meltling. Not 5 seconds had passed and a little girl's shrill voice screamed, "_IT'S ALIVE!_"

**• • •**

"Are you up for another bad ice joke?" Andy murmured, sounding less upbeat than before. The fire crystal's magic was coming to an end, and that was obvious to all but to Andy himself.

"I don't want any more ice puns, I'm good, thanks," Krista said, feeling the Prince lean heavily against her back. Arendelle's castle was almost white with all the snow, Krista could see that as the great structure loomed closer and hung from the roofs, like a beast's fangs.

"Don't give me the _cold _shoulder," even weak and scratchy, Andy's laugh warmed her heart. But then his laughter changed to a fit of coughing. Krista dug her heels into her reindeer, urging her to go faster. They were so close, she could already see the mighty gates frosted over. Closed, as they always were.

"_Prince Anders is back_!" one of the guards up on the wall yelled when he spotted them, "_Open the gates!_"

Suri skid to a stop in front of the tall gates. Krista jumped off and helped Andy down, "I've got you, careful, careful..."

Andy gripped her hand as she helped him down. Just like in Elliott's ice palace, she helped him walk.

"...Are you g—gonna be okay?" he asked, giving her a soft look.

This huge idiot here was freezing to death and he was concerned about _her_? And she meant idiot in the most affectionate way possible. This boy had a heart of gold, damn the gods...

"Don't worry about me," she told him, just as the rattling of metal and creak of wood indicated that the gates were opening. "I'll go see if I can help the General, or something..."

She almost gasped when she saw the people that rushed to meet them.

_Gerda_, she almost blurted out as the plump woman approached them. Of course, Krista had only met her snow counterpart, and saying her name would have been really creepy since they hadn't actually _met_. A man with a huge nose and ginger hair was with her.

"Kai, Gerda!" Andy said, and he was taken from her arms to theirs.

"Andy! You had us worried sick!"" Gerda cried, this Gerda was just like the snow one.

Krista would have smiled had she not felt so heartbroken.

"My lord, you are freezing," Kai said, furrowing his brows at his white hair, "Let's get you inside." He nodded a polite thanks to Krista and the three of them turned around, towards the castle.

"Get him warm and find Princess Hasint— Helena. Princess Helena," Krista didn't even want to pretend that she didn't care to know the Princess' name anymore. All she cared about was Andy being safe.

"We will. Thank you," Gerda said, as they helped Andy walk between them.

_Don't look back Andy. Don't. You'll only make it_—

The Prince's sorrowful green eyes found hers, and she literally felt something inside her break. He held her gaze until two heavy gates shut right in her face.

Krista stood there, feeling numb, not necessarily from the cold.

Suri grunted confusedly and nudged the closed gates with her antlers. Her big black eyes looked at her, _why is Andy going? Where is he going? Why are you not with him?_

"Let's go," Krista sighed, she turned around with a stiff nod. She started to march off.

Her reindeer bleated and kicked at the frozen ground, trying to get her attention. _Andy's in there!_

"Suri, to me!" Krista said with an edge that made the reindeer obey reluctantly.

They walked along the bridge, and snow started to fall.

_Why him_.

**• • •**

"I'm going back out to look for Prince Anders!" Helena declared, as she stood up from the soft leather chair she'd been sitting in.

Of course, the last thing she wanted to do was go out into the hellish winter, but did she really have a choice? She was cooped up in a small study with a bunch of dignitaries and worst of all, the Duchess of Sandlane. She'd take her chances with the storm, the woman was driving her mad.

They didn't know their King sat in a dungeon, the only ones were the men that had come with her and she'd paid well for their silence. Dominik and Fritz were in the infirmary, so they couldn't tattletale to the Duchess. Besides, the King would only be there until she figured out a way to get him to stop the winter or a safe way to get rid of him.

"You cannot risk going out there again," the Spanish one said in his thick accent.

_Don't tell me what to do! _she wanted to scream. But she held her tongue and tried the _but_—_I_—_must_—_ find_—_my_—_true_—_love _face. "I would never forgive myself if anything happened to him—"

"If anything happens to the Prince, you're all Arendelle has left," the Duchess said.

The words pleased her, but they were not true. Unless she married Andy, she had no right to the throne. They'd just find some stupid cousin with a better claim and all her effort would have been for nothing.

But the gods were smiling upon her, it seemed.

The door swung open and two servants came in, carrying a hunched over old man— _no_, not an old man. _Andy_.

"Princess Helena?" the handmaid said.

Her Prince's hair was ninety percent white, he wore a peasant's travel gear and had a rock tied around his neck, but otherwise he looked unharmed.

"Andy!" her cry of complete relief was real enough. _He's not dead, I still have a chance, he's not dead_. She rushed to him, holding him in her arms. He was shivering.

"You're... you're so cold, love," she almost flinched away when his cold fingers touched her cheek.

He clung to her, his green eyes wide and desperate, "Helena, you have to kiss me!"

"W—what?" she was utterly confused, she felt a blush spread across her cheeks.

"Now. _We have to kiss_." He tried to, but he was too weak to pull himself up to his full height, his freezing nose barely grazed her chin.

"We'll give you two some _privacy_," the disgusting Spanish man winked and ushered everyone out. The Duchess was fanning her face and looking at Helena like she was some wench. Finally they were alone, the only sound the crackling of the fireplace.

Gently, she guided him to a couch, where he lay down. He placed an arm over his forehead while he breathing heavily. _What _in the blazes had happened to the prince from a few hours ago? The lively prince that had so boldly said "_I'll bring him back._" She sat on the edge of the couch and touched his cheek. Even through her gloves, she could feel that he was ice cold.

"What happened?" she murmured, taking his bare hand in her gloved one. It was like holding freezing water, but she did not let go. His hand had a faint blue hue to it.

It took him nearly ten seconds to answer her. And when he did, his voice cracked, "Elliott struck me with his powers."

So he _had _made it to the ice palace, but he had failed to bring the King back. She almost smiled at how _she _had succeeded. Not only that but she'd come back without a scratch— save for Fritz and Dominik but who cared about them— and Andy had got some rotten luck.

"You said he'd never hurt you," it almost came out with malice, the urge to rub in the fact that she'd been right was almost too much. But she said nothing.

"I was _wrong_," Andy pulled his arm away from his forehead and placed it over his heart, clenching his teeth as he shut his eyes. "He froze my heart..."

Helena held her breath, waiting for him to continue. And when he did, his eyes shone with hope.

"Only an act of true love can save me," he said, waiting for her reaction.

At first, she only stared at him. _What was she supposed to_— _oh_. OH.

"_Helena, you have to kiss me_!" were the first words out of his mouth when he'd come in. So_ that's_ why he'd acted like a dog in heat.

"A true love's kiss," she said dryly. Andy nodded, smiling at her, oh so trustingly.

She could almost feel the blood rushing in her ears, she was so still. This was _beyond fucking terrible_. If she kissed him, he'd know she did not love him, because nothing would happen. If she _didn't, _he'd freeze to death all the same.

Her nails dug into her knees, and the Princess of the Southern Isles racked her brain for a decision.

_What would my sisters do_?

She leaned forward.

* * *

**+++a terrible, terrible chapter is coming and i am 0% ready for it omg**

**++ i changed the cover for this story, all credits to juliajm15 on tumblr and her awesome genderbent frozen drawings!**

**+ can you smell the end getting closer? i can D: ive never finished a story or a comic or anything in my life, so if i finish this story it'll be a first for me and i couldn't be prouder :))**

**thanks for reading/reviewing/ all that good stuff!**


	19. Beware the Frozen Heart

**a/n: swearing ahead **

* * *

Kissing him was like having the snow dragon's breath on her skin all over again.

Even if his lips were still soft, the coldness made her want to pull away almost immediately. It was like kissing iron.

But still, they kissed. Helena opened her eyes to peek, and his were closed. _So trusting_. She could count every freckle, see the faint scar near his eyebrow, the one he'd told her about during their so _romantic _walk through the rose garden.

Nothing was happening, and the Princess was getting anxious. His hair wasn't turning back and he was as cold as death.

_Because you don't love him_.

She pulled away, leaned her forehead against his for a few seconds. _Oh, Anders_. His eyes were still closed, with his brows raised up in confusion, his mouth slightly open, waiting for something that was not going to happen.

"Well. That was anticlimactic." She sighed and sat back, watching him, the glow of the fire reflecting his pale face. _It was worth a try_, she figured.

Now, it seemed, she'd have to do it the hard way. She felt a pang of regret, but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. She had to do this.

"I don't understand," he said, his voice quiet, frail. "_I don't understand_," he said louder, almost like a growl. If he'd had the strength she was sure he would've jumped up and started pacing around.

"What is there to understand? You obviously don't love _me_," she said, feigning hurt. Time to turn the tables. She stood up and placed both hands on her hips, "After _everything_ I did for your kingdom while you were away!"

"_What_? Helena! I do, I love you! You're—" he shivered violently, choking on his words. She resisted the urge to smile. When he managed to control himself, he whispered, "I love you."

Helena nodded curtly and leaned close to his face to see his every reaction, "I know you love me... but, Andy...if only there was someone out there who loved _you_."

His face was almost comical; all wide eyes and open mouth. Like he couldn't register her words.

"_This world is cruel, Helena. And if you don't learn to play the game soon, you're going to lose_," her sister Katherine's words echoed inside her head, "_If you lose, you die_."

She was not going to lose.

But Andy was.

• • •

"You— but— but you said... I thought—"

The thoughts were like smoke inside his head, they formed and vanished and he couldn't grasp _one_. Because Helena's words made _no sense_.

_"Are you proposing to me, Anders?" _

_"Would it be crazy?" _

_"Would it be even crazier if I said yes?"_

This time her laugh was cold, it cut like glass.

"I am _thirteenth _in line in my own kingdom. Astrid is young and—" she shrugged nonchalantly, and walked over to the window. "I didn't stand a _chance_ to be Queen." She grabbed the two heavy drapes and pulled them closed, the only light left being the fireplace and the candle on the desk.

"I knew I'd have to marry into the throne _somewhere_," she stalked around like a cat. Andy could barely move, but he tried to follow her every step with his head and eyes. "I have claim to nothing but the title 'Princess' tacked to the front of my name."

"_What are you talking about_?" Andy felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as Helena walked behind him, pulling off the glove on her right hand. She licked her thumb and index finger, and put out the candle with a soft _hiss_.

And suddenly Helena was not the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen anymore. Her eyes were a viper's, her words were poison, and he had fell for every single one. The icy hand in his heart now twisted it, like a knife.

"Elliott was the heir, so he was my first choice, but your brother was such a _freak_! No one was getting _anywhere_ with him," she stood in front of him once again, a calm, cocky expression on her face, "Do you remember Lucille Westergard?"

Andy's slowly freezing heart clenched painfully, "_Traitorous Crow_?"

Helena laughed that cruel laugh again, one that _did _not and _should _not belong to her, "Is that what you call my poor cousin? She was in a similar situation to mine. But Lucille has always been an ambitious little bitch." _Just like you_, Andy thought darkly. "But she miscalculated, and left you for your recluse brother. By doing that, she lost both of you!

"But I'm smarter than Lucille. _You_ were the real prize, Andy. You were _so _desperate for love, you were willing to marry me just like _that_!" she snapped her fingers and shook her head, smirking. "Didn't your parents ever warn you about strangers?"

A blonde girl did, once, while traveling through dark woods...

_Elliott did_. _Elliott tried to_... if he'd had the energy, or the will to keep going, he would have slapped himself.

"Helena..."

"Ah. Don't answer that question, love, they obviously didn't," she walked over to the table and picked up the pitcher of water. She walked over to the fireplace, still chatting away, "Anyway, after we were married, I figured I'd have to stage a little accident for Elliott. My sister Rowena is rather gifted at brewing poison," she dumped the contents of the pitcher on the fireplace, putting it out with a loud _hiss _and lots of steam. "Or perhaps a hunting trip gone wrong! The possibilities of how the King would perish were endless, really."

With the fire doused he had no extra heat or anything but the crystal around his neck to keep him warm, Andy felt his condition becoming ten times worse, his body getting even colder. Not to mention his mental health.

_I'm going to strangle her_, Andy decided right then. With hidden strength he did not know he had, he struggled off the sofa— only to fall and land on the soft carpet, unable to get up. He clawed at the floor, trying to get to her.

A surge of General Winter—like strength gave his voice conviction, "_You fucking_—"

She _tsked _and kicked him in the ribs with the point of her boot, "No interrupting, sweetling." It wasn't hard enough to really _hurt, _but he did gasp, which was still very humiliating mostly for his ego.

"_As I was saying... then_ your monster brother doomed himself!" she set the empty pitcher down and looked down at him, "And you were dumb enough to go after him. _And look what happened_," her voice was mock—pity as she gestured at his hair.

She titled her head in a way he might have once found adorable but now the sight made him sick, "Did you know I went to look for you, after your horse returned without you?"

"Eh?" Andy was still busy trying to move from the floor, but the task was impossible. She stepped over his swatting arms and sat down on her heels so they were at eye—level.

"I went to the ice palace with a small escort. Your monster brother killed two good men."

Andy stared at her, peering at her through the darkness of the room. He could see the smirk on her lips, the cruel glint in her eyes, craving his reaction. She was trying to provoke him.

He thought of little Elliott, who broke his arm trying to get the cat Sprinkles to come down from a tree once. Elliott who voiced out random, seemingly useless facts about squirrels and other things he'd read on books. His gentle older brother who sobbed for hours when they had to put down his favorite horse because it got an infection.

_Elliott_, who probably completed Andy's snowman's from the window above the courtyard with his magic even if he had not known it at the time. He _knew _he wasn't going crazy when he'd turn around and the snowman was completed, or those random _I love you's _in the snow his mother claimed _she _wrote. It was all Elliott's doing, he knew it.

"Elliott is many things," he said, with surprising calm, "but a _murderer _is not one of them. Also he's not a liar like _you_."

"You're so loyal, you're like a dog. It's pathetic," by not giving a reaction, her pretty little face transformed into an ugly scowl. He'd caught her lie at least, but the small victory didn't last long. She raised her eyebrows, and in a swift movement she ripped the fire crystal from his neck. "What is _this_?"

"It's _mine_," he made a feeble attempt to snatch it back, but she stepped away easily. She threw it to the fireplace, now without a fire, to the still warm coals. The crystal glowed faintly.

"You won't be needing it, love." Again she sat on her heels in front of him and lifted his chin up to look into her eyes, "I'd love to stay and chat a little more, but I have an Ice King to kill and a summer to bring back."

He jerked his head away and glared daggers at her, "You're no match for Elliott," he snarled, remembering the Blizzard Dragon, the Meltlings, the ice spikes...

She laughed softly, almost sweetly, "No. _You're _no match for Elliott. If you're not a popsicle by the time I'm back, perhaps I'll show you your brother's head, if you like." At his face of horror, she laughed once again and fanned her face, "Sorry, sorry, that came out a little too _Cristina_." She stood up, prepared to take her leave. "You and your brother will _finally_ have something in common," she said brightly, as she grabbed the handle of the door, "_A frozen heart_."

For lack of anything better to say, and because he was starting to get _the _worst case of brain freeze, he blurted out, "You won't get away with this."

"Oh, sweetie," she yanked open the door, "_I already have_," she said haughtily, and she shut the door behind her, the _click _of the lock making something inside him snap.

The door hadn't even finished closing and Andy had already launched himself at it in a fit of rage, trembling and banging the door weakly, "No! No, no, _no_!"

With a shudder and a sudden chill, he could practically _feel _the last of his hair turn white.

He slumped against the door, trying to wrap his cloak tighter around himself. The prince closed his eyes.

_And he thought of open doors_...

• • •

It had been taxing, pulling off the thing with Andy. Helena was exhausted, and a little annoyed. Whose stupid idea was it that only an act of true love could thaw a frozen heart? Why not the high—five of friendship, or the pat in the head of companionship?

Had the boy's heart unfroze she would have had the priest there in a second and had them married. _Then _accuse the King of treason, and execute him, and hopefully stop the winter that way.

And she would have been queen.

As always, things had to be done the hard way.

She approached the council chamber, where the Duchess' snotty voice could be heard.

"It's getting colder by the minute. If we don't do something soon, we'll all freeze to death!"

Helena took a deep breath and stood outside the door, mentally preparing herself for what had to be done next. Out of the thirteen, Sophia had always been the actress. Her manipulation and fake crying and fake happiness and fake everything were topnotch. The 7th princess of the Southern Isles had married into a rich noble family mostly by acting. So Helena had learned from the best.

She stumbled in, gasping for breath. Warm tears streamed down her face.

"Princess!"

"My lady!"

Everyone's attention went to her immediately. The fresh tears blurred her vision, so she couldn't see who it was that grabbed her elbow and gently led her to a chair. Someone was rubbing slow circles on her back, which she did not appreciate, but whatever. Comforting hands were laid on her shoulder and they let her cry.

_Hey, Sophia, is this a ten out of ten or what?_

"Sweet Princess, what's wrong? What happened?" the Duchess' beady eyes peered at her, full of concern.

"A—Andy... Prince Andy, he's... he's—" Helena's shoulders shook as she tried to control her sobs. _Okay, tone it down a bit, "He's dead_!"

The collective gasp in the room was music to her ears. A man swore in his native language, and the Duchess squealed like a startled pig. Helena forced the corner of her mouth down, as it was threatening to go up in a side smile.

"What happened to him?" the Spanish man asked.

"He was killed by King Elliott," she sniffled, suddenly not so proud of all the flawless fake crying. It was going to make her makeup run and make her look like a raccoon.

"_¿Qué? _His own brother?" the man looked shocked.

"Yes... the King froze his insides, and he burst like—like—" she tried to make wild gestures with her hands, and let out a little sob. "That's why his hair had turned white...little ice shards everywhere... and then those melted and—" she shook her head and shut her eyes tightly. That part was necessary. She did not need someone to be like, _hey_, _let's go check the body_! Better they believe there was nothing left worth looking at.

"You don't have to describe it, sweet child, it's alright," the Duchess took her hand in her bony one, and Helena resisted the urge to smack it away.

"A—At least we got to say our marriage vows, before he—before—," the heartbroken sob she let out would've made Sophia proud, she knew it. She covered her face with her hands, finally letting the smile that was _itching _to spread over her lips show, nobody could see it.

"There is no doubt now," she heard the Duchess of Sandlane say to the dignitaries. "King Elliott is a monster and we're all in grave danger!"

"My lady," the Spanish man said. Helena looked up at him, her mask of grief back on her face. "Prince Andy left you in charge, _sí_? Arendelle looks to you."

_Until you find someone with a better claim_.

She had to act fast.

"It pains me so, my lords, my lady," she nodded gravely at the men and at the Duchess. "But..." she swallowed, took a big breath through her nose, "With a heavy heart, I charge King Elliott of Arendelle with treason and sentence him to attend trial for his crimes."

_And then he'll be sentenced to death_.

• • •

Sadness swirled within him like the snow gathering strength outside.

Elliott remembered, long ago when he'd been young and afraid— _well, more so than now_— he'd wished he had a brother more like himself.

Maybe not someone with ice powers, perhaps—though those would have been welcome, but just... more like him. Where he was good at sports, Andy made any excuse humanly possible to avoid them. Where he studied geometry and knew it almost religiously, Andy claimed he was deathly allergic to all numbers and forms of math. Elliott's room had been clean and neat, while his little brother's had been an explosion.

Times like those, he'd wished for a brother more like him.

Now, though... _now_ he would give _anything _to just have that brother back, safe and sound.

After a tidal wave of self—loathing for himself, and brooding for quite a long time, Elliott settled to watch in fascination as his out—of—control emotions transformed his cell.

Frost and spikes decorated the ceiling, and his chains were covered in a thick layer of the stuff. He suspected a strong thrust could break them, brittle as they had become. The floor had a solid layer of ice in it, making it a tiny ice rink. The stone walls complained against the load, cracking and crunching under the weight of all the ice.

_There's no way I can win, it's over for me_, Elliott reflected sullenly as he stared out at the storm, which was about ten times worse. The fact that the Princess had not come back spoke volumes, and Elliott could only assume the worst.

_But_... and he thought of his little brother. With his jests and smiles, _always _laughing. How he would _not _turn his back on Elliott, even if the rest of the world had. Even if Elliott _himself _had. _I wish I had been there for him long ago_.

Andy could be out there in the middle of the mess _he'd _caused. He resisted the urge to go back to his destructive mantra of _conceal, don't feel_. What was there to conceal? How could he hope to stop feeling the despair, the hopelessness, the crippling _fear_? Those feelings were out, they'd been all let out on that cold mountain with only the stars to witness it, but now they were slowly coming back.

"_... he's dangerous_," a voice said from somewhere outside his cell. The walls were weakening, so that's how he figured the sounds reached him; through the cracks. The scrape of boots on stone and the murmuring of men followed. "_Move quickly and seize him at once_..."

That horrible feeling of being trapped came back to him, just like he'd got on the ice palace. _They were coming for him_. He pulled at the shackles savagely, ignoring the sharp pain on his shoulder and arm that the action caused. The wound would reopen if he continued, but he cared not, he _had to get away_.

_If you don't fight, you can't win_, a the tiny part of him that still wanted to survive whispered.

The sound of cracking made his heart leap to his throat.

The weight of the ice crumbled the walls with a massive _**crash**_, and so the wall was blown open.

•** • •**

The ugly metal shackles lay broken and frozen on the floor.

Helena pushed over the guards and made her way to the front, her hands clenching into fists. _He got away, he got away._

Only a huge gaping hole remained, the white of the landscape outside all there was to see.

She'd placed him in that custom-made dungeon for a reason, it had looked like it was _made _to hold the likes of Elliott. She thought _her _parents had been shitty— but Elliott's had been just flat out _cruel _with those shackles down there.

The Princess didn't realize she'd been scowling deeply until the guard beside her cleared his throat uncomfortably. She immediately wiped her face clear of emotion.

"What do we do now, my lady?"

"Stay put," she placed a gloved hand on the hilt of her sword, "I shall look for the King."

* * *

**++++ you may not remember 'traitorous crow,' but she was one of Andy's ex-girlfriends that kinda went for elliott instead of him. i think she's mentioned in for the first time in forever chap, not sure tho**

**+++ reprise of life's too short here, too, u should def listen to that outtake song. also bits and pieces from the book "a sister more like me" that book's where this story's title is taken from**

**++ two things from Hans that bothered me- like, **_**how **_**did no one think to check anna's body? and excuse me elsa was still the QUEEN he couldnt just like sentence her to death like that?**

**+ i know i said helena maybe wouldn't be as bad as hans... but who were we kidding. she's too fun to write as a baddie**

**thank you for reading!:) reviews make my dayy**

**completely unrelated- THE FROZEN DVD CAME OUT I ALREADY GOT MY COPY IM SO HAPPYYYGJKSDKFHDFA**


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